Four soldiers from the Indian Army made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland during an encounter with terrorists in the Baaji Maal area, Kalakote sub division, Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
The tragedy struck the family on May 7 when they found themselves in the middle of intense Pakistani shelling at their rented accommodation in Poonch which was badly hit by the cross-border shelling.
Security and defence experts have called for immediate strengthening of the security management and intelligence network along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region, which witnessed the killing of 59 people, including 24 security personnel and 28 terrorists, in terror incidents this year.
The nearly 50-hour-long encounter between militants and security forces in Rajouri district ended on Monday in which a Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant and an srmy jawan were killed and three others, including a major, injured.
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The officials said dozens of unexploded explosives were destroyed by the experts along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts and along the International Border in Jammu and Samba which witnessed intense cross-border shelling and drone attacks from May 7 to May 10.
Authorities have sealed three houses belonging to the affected families and shifted 21 their close relatives to government accommodation to be kept under strict monitoring.
The shelling hit a village in Laam belt of Nowshera sector, killing Akhtar Bi and injuring her husband Mohmmad Hanief.
A search operation in Thanamandi belt turned into a fierce encounter after the terrorists opened fire on the forces, who retaliated, Army officials said.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
Fifty-one people, including 46 students and five policemen, were injured in clashes between the police and university student in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police officials said.
Police said situation is under control in the border district of Jammu and Kashmir.
On Thursday, the Jammu and Kashmir police said it had 'encircled' two Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists responsible for the murders.
Firing and mortar shelling from across the LoC was reported in the Nowshera sector of the district around 3.30 pm and at 5.30 pm, they said.
The incident occurred on Monday night when the victim, Mohammad Razaq (40), came out of a mosque in his village Kunda Top under the Thanamandi police station area. Razaq's brother, Mohammad Tahir Choudhary, is a soldier in the Territorial Army, police said.
Army troops could not open fire on the terrorists due to the presence of Pakistani posts nearby, they said. Drone footage of the area showed a blood trail, indicating that the terrorists had suffered injuries due to the fall.
While the Indian Army made no mention of any casualty on the Pakistan side, official sources said five enemy soldiers were injured in the explosion and the subsequent firing between the two sides.
Army troops on Thursday recovered a huge cache of arms, besides bodies of slain terrorists from the forward area of Keri in Rajouri district.
"The Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars from 0715 hours along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector", PRO, ministry of defence, Jammu, Lt Col Manish Mehta said. The Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively, he said, adding that the firing is currently going on.
The army, in a statement, said that Indian troops retaliated "strongly and effectively".
The Pakistanis were so fearful of Brigadier Mohammad Usman, the 'Lion of Naushera', that they announced a Rs 50,000 bounty on his head.
Two top militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed on Friday, in a gunbattle with security forces in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police officials said.
Two civilians were killed and another was injured in firing outside an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Friday, leading to massive protests and demands for a fair probe.
One suspected Pakistani terrorist and an Army soldier were killed in a gunfight during an ongoing search operation in a remote village in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said.
Five army personnel were killed and six injured on Monday when terrorists ambushed their vehicle in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said.
Forces have now intensified the operation to track down the terrorists, who may be trying to find new targets in the area.
A total of 26 Army personnel, including three officers and five paratroopers, and seven civilians have been killed in eight terror attacks since October 11, 2021 in the twin districts.
The incident took place in Tuksan Dhok village and the captured terrorists included the most wanted LeT commander Talib Hussain, a resident of Rajouri district and the mastermind of the recent IED blasts in the district, the officials said.
People along the Line of Control and International Border in the Jammu region continue to live under the shadow of death, with unexploded mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops still embedded in farmlands and residential areas even though hostilities have stopped for nearly a week. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Despite the May 10 understanding between India and Pakistan, locals describe the border areas as a 'death trap'. Sixty-two-year-old Balvinder Singh, who returned to his home in Pargwal sector on May 14, recounted a narrow escape. "Two shells exploded in our compound, damaging our house. Three more landed on our farmland. We were terrified and told our family to stay away from the fields until the Army could help," Singh told PTI. Army engineers later came to the village and safely defused the unexploded shells, bringing a temporary sense of relief. "Fear is writ large on the faces of people to these death traps in border hamlets", he said. Scenes of destruction are evident rooftops torn apart, broken houses, windows punctured by shrapnel, and carcasses of cattle lying in pools of blood. The acrid smell of gunpowder still lingers in the air. Sardar Gurmeet Singh faced a similar ordeal. His family could not re-enter their home as a live mortar shell had sunk into the compound in a village close to the International Border. "The army's bomb disposal squad removed it after four days, allowing us to finally enter, back home," he said. Indian Army engineers have launched a sweeping clearance operation across border districts, defusing over 80 unexploded shells in the past five days -- including 6 in Pargwal, 19 in Rajouri, 42 in Poonch, and 12 along the IB. "These shells, mostly 120 mm calibre, have a range of 15 to 30 km and pose a serious threat to both civilian and military targets," an Army officer said. "Many of them were fired by Pakistan during recent hostilities." On May 7, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor, conducting precision strikes on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. The subsequent retaliation by Pakistan pushed the region to the brink of war. From 7 to 10 of May, 27 civilians were killed and over 70 injured in Pakistani shelling in the Jammu region. Farid Din Gujjar, a resident near the border, expressed fear about returning to his fields. "Several shells created deep craters in our paddy land. We cannot resume work until all unexploded ordnance is cleared. It's a death trap," he said. Army units, in coordination with Jammu and Kashmir Police, have evacuated high-risk zones and issued stern warnings to residents not to touch any suspicious objects or unexploded shells. In one major operation, 42 live shells were safely destroyed in the Poonch villages of Jhullas, Salotri, Dharati and Salani. "All safety protocols were followed. The shells posed a serious danger to local lives," an Army spokesperson said, calling the effort a 'continued commitment to protect civilians and restore normalcy'. Poonch saw the vast majority of deaths due to shelling. Security officials said that Pakistan used a mix of mortar shells, armed drones, and missiles during the shelling spree, specifically targeting civilian habitations and border towns in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Poonch. As clearance operations continue, the border residents are slowly returning to their homes, but with caution, fear, and lingering uncertainty about shelling that may yet happen in the future.
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24-year-old Rifleman Yash Paul, a resident of Mantalai village in Udhampur lost his life in cross-LoC firing.
Chants of "Neelam Singh Amar Rahe" echoed through the village as Vandana saluted her husband one last time.
Villagers living near the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu are on high alert following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, preparing underground bunkers and accelerating crop harvesting. The incident has heightened security concerns despite a renewed ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021. Residents are demanding swift action against the perpetrators and their handlers.
The Pakistan Army continued shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in four sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a befitting response by the Indian Army, officials said on Thursday. The intensity of cross-border firing was less than Wednesday, when Pakistan Army carried out one of the most intense artillery and mortar shelling in years targeting the forward villages in J-K following missile strikes by India as part of 'Operation Sindoor'.
The terrorists want Muslim women and girls to wear burqas and strictly follow the purdah system.
This was the first such attack in the past many years in the otherwise peaceful Jammu region and coincided with the first day of the New Year.
Four militants barged into houses of some minority community members in Panglar village of Rajouri district at around 2 am, officials told PTI.
The delayed timing of J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's admission has more to do with deflecting the thrust of the Opposition attack on the prime minister and Union home minister during the monsoon session of Parliament, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party which had emerged victorious on 29 seats have 28 Hindus and one Sikh member as none of its Muslim candidates, including two former ministers, managed to win.
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