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Srinagar: Two soldiers, injured in shelling along LoC, succumb at base hospital
Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that the two soldiers, who were injured in a ceasefire violation in the Rampur sector on Friday, died on Saturday. “Army salutes the sacrifice of the soldiers,” he said.
Two soldiers, who were critically injured in a ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) at Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday, died at an Army hospital on Saturday. Four civilians and three soldiers were injured in the indiscriminate firing of shells from across the LoC on Friday, the army said.
Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that the two soldiers, who were injured in a ceasefire violation in the Rampur sector on Friday, died on Saturday. “Army salutes the sacrifice of the soldiers,” he said.
The injured four civilians, including a four-year-old boy, are undergoing treatment in two hospitals in Uri and Baramulla.
Locals said no fresh shelling was reported in their area since Friday night. A couple of houses were also damaged, when shells and mortars landed close to the houses at Churunda village on the LoC in the Haji peer sector.
This is the second time in the last fortnight when Indian and Pakistani troopers exchanged fire on the LoC in the Uri sector amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Indian Army has been using heavy artillery to respond to Pakistan’s recent ceasefire violations.
In April, three civilians were killed in two villages in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, when shells fired from across the LoC landed close to an army camp in Panzgam.
In March, Indian and Pakistani troops had exchanged fire in the Uri sector in which one house was damaged. The mortar shells had landed in Mothal, Silikote, Hatlanga, and Churunda villages on the LoC.
Indian Army has blamed Pakistan for ceasefire violations in a bid to help militants infiltrate into Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Top army officials have warned that militants are waiting at various launch pads across the LoC to sneak into Kashmir.
Villagers living on the LoC have been demanding the construction of underground bunkers, where they could take refuge during shelling that has intensified in the past year.
Pakistan has violated the ceasefire around 1,400 times this year to date. While the corresponding figure for 2018 and 2019 was 1,629 and 3,168, respectively.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh last week had urged the top military commanders to ensure the country’s adversary is not allowed to exploit the ongoing healthcare emergency due to Covid-19.
