A senior Jammu and Kashmir government officer was among five people killed and several others injured in heavy Pakistani shelling that targeted multiple locations in Rajouri, Poonch, and Jammu districts early Saturday, officials confirmed.
Raj Kumar Thapa, the Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) of Rajouri, was killed when an artillery shell struck his official residence in Rajouri town. Two of his staff members were also seriously injured in the same strike.
According to officials, all three were rushed to the Government Medical College, but Thapa succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, mourning the loss, posted on X:”Devastating news from Rajouri. We have lost a dedicated officer of the J-K Administration Services. Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district and attended the online meeting I chaired. Today, his residence was hit by Pak shelling… I’ve no words to express my shock and sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace.”
In a separate incident, two-year-old Aisha Noor and 35-year-old Mohd Shohib were killed when shelling hit an industrial area in Rajouri. Three others were injured in the same locality.In Poonch’s Mendhar sector, 55-year-old Rashida Bi died when a mortar shell landed on her home in Kanghra-Galhutta village.
Meanwhile, in the R S Pura sector of Jammu district, Ashok Kumar alias Shoki, a resident of Bidipur Jatta, was killed in cross-border firing along the International Border.Shells and suspected drones also hit residential areas in Jammu city, including Rehari and Rupnagar, injuring multiple civilians. Additional injuries were reported from Poonch, where at least three more persons were evacuated to hospitals due to intense shelling.
The series of incidents marks one of the most deadly days of cross-border hostilities in recent months.
