Shelling for 4th straight day, soldier succumbs

Shyam Sood

Rajouri, July 19

A civilian was injured when the Pakistan army resorted to heavy shelling along the Line of Control for the four consecutive day today, even as a soldier succumbed to his injuries a day after he was wounded in ceasefire violation.

Subedar Shashi Kumar,  injured in mortar shelling on a forward post in Nowshera sector yesterday, succumbed to his injuries at the Army hospital in Udhampur.

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A resident of Himachal Pradesh, he was airlifted to the Command Hospital in Udhampur for specialised treatment, but died around 8 am. After putting in 28 years of service, Kumar was scheduled to retire next month.

The Pakistan army resorted to heavy mortar shelling and small/automatic weapon fire around 9 am in the Balakot sector as also in Poonch and Manjakot sectors. Ahmed Raza, 32, a resident of Sandote, Balakot, was injured in the shelling.

Unprovoked shelling has crippled normal life in the border villages. On Tuesday, the Pakistan army targeted Indian forward posts and villages along the LoC in Mendhar, Balakot (Poonch), Manjakot and Nowshera (Rajouri). Sepoy Jaspreet Singh from Moga was killed in the Kalsian area in Nowshera sector yesterday.