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Protest outside army facility in Rajouri after 2 men shot dead, 1 injured
Following the deaths, senior police officers said there were protests by locals with some resorting to stone pelting and people even blocked the Jammu-Poonch highway
JAMMU: Two civilians were shot dead and a third was injured on Friday morning in a firing incident near the gate of an army facility in Jammu’s Rajouri town, leading hundreds of local residents to protest the deaths and demand an impartial probe into the incident.
A senior district police officer said the local residents allege that a sentry opened fire in a case of mistaken identity but the army firmly denied the allegation. An Indian Army statement on Twitter blamed the deaths on firing by “unidentified terrorists”.
The two men who died were identified as Shalinder Kumar and Kamal Kishore, both residents of Phalyana in Rajouri. An army officer said they worked as porters with the army and the injured man, was a civilian and has been hospitalised. His condition is described as stable.
Rajouri senior superintendent of police (SSP) Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam said the police are investigating and declined to comment on allegations of the local residents.
Rajouri station house officer inspector Fareed Ahmad said a large number of people gathered outside the army facility where the firing incident took place and protested the deaths. They blocked the Jammu-Poonch highway and some also threw stones at the military facility.
The army hasn’t given details of the incident. In a brief statement on Twitter, the army’s Nagrota-based White Knight Corps, also called 16 Corps, said: “In an early morning firing incident by unidentified terrorists at Rajouri near Military Hospital, there has been fatal casualty of two individuals. The Police, security forces and civil administration officials are on the site.”
So far, there has been no official statement by the police giving details of the firing either.
A local resident said the three men were approaching the Alpha gate of the army camp at about 6:15am when shots were fired, allegedly by a sentry. The two men were killed on the spot.
A police officer said the situation in the town is tense but under control.
