Jammu, April 1: A BSF officer and a girl were killed on Monday as Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling on forward areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, sparking panic among border residents, officials said.
Three other people were injured in the intense shelling on the fourth consecutive day that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
Officials said three houses were damaged in the cross-border shelling which was going on in different sectors of Shahpur, Kerni and Krishna Ghati.
A defence spokesperson said Pakistan violated the ceasefire around 7.40 am by shelling mortars and firing with small arms along the LoC in Shahpur and Kerni sectors of Poonch district.
“The Army is retaliating,” the spokesperson said.
The officials said panic gripped the residents as Pakistan heavily shelled forward posts and targeted civilian areas at over a dozen places.
Mortar shells had landed in different villages of Qasba, Mankote, Kerni, Guntariyan and Shahpur, forcing the people to stay indoors, they said, adding that all schools in shelling-hit areas had been closed as a precautionary measure. PTI
