40 houses, shops damaged in fresh spell of Pak shelling

Excelsior  Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 30: Pakistani Rangers targeted nearly dozen forward BSF posts and almost an equal number of forward villages including Arnia town throughout the last night as mortar shells landed in several forward villages damaging about 40 houses, shops and marriage halls and creating fresh wave of panic among the border villagers. Several live mortar shells were defused by the security personnel.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Rangers continued shelling till early hours of this morning in about dozen forward villages in Arnia and RS Pura sectors. However, it was Arnia town and border villages of Treva and Kadwal, which bore brunt of the damage as several mortar shells landed inside and outside houses and shops of the people apart from the fields.
While firing stopped in forward villages of RS Pura late in the night, the 82mm mortar shelling and firing continued in Arnia sector till wee hours of the morning.
Sources said nearly 50 mortar shells were fired by the Rangers during the overnight shelling, over a dozen of which landed in Arnia town alone. The forward villages hit by shells and firing included Jabowal, Nikowal, Sei, Vikraman, Chenaz, Pittal, Pindi, Khora, Treva, Kadwal, Jugnu Chak, Nawa Pind, Jora Farm and surroundings in addition to Arnia town.
Over a dozen BSF pickets were targeted in the shelling but there was no casualty of the BSF. Three civilians including a woman, who were injured in the shelling in Arnia town last night, were responding to the treatment but their condition remained serious.
Sources said nearly 40 houses, shops and marriage halls were damaged extensively in Pakistan shelling in Arnia town and other border villages. Laxmi Bhawan—a banquet hall was directly hit by the shell and damage in the midnight last night.
Ashwani Kumar, whose jewellery shop was hit by a mortar shell and damaged in Main Bazaar, Arnia, said the shells had not only damaged his own shop but several shops in surroundings when they were closed in the night. He said splinters of mortars had fallen inside after breaking roofs.
Another shopkeeper Subash Gupta, who runs Rahul General Store in Arnia town, was seen cleaning the shop of splinters. He said this was for third time in past five months that mortar shells, fired by Pakistan, have landed in Arnia town or even beyond. The people, he said, have been suffering immense loss of property, livestock etc apart from the human lives.
The BSF retaliated effectively to silence Pakistani guns. Nearly dozen Pakistani villages and several posts of the Rangers opposite Arnia and RS Pura suffered extensive damages in retaliatory firing by the BSF. The BSF retaliation was necessitated to silence the Pakistani guns, which were pounding Arnia town and forward villages.
Meanwhile, on the directions of Governor NN Vohra, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Shant Manu and IGP Jammu Rajesh Kumar visited Arnia town and forward villages to assess the damage caused by overnight shelling and firing by Pakistan.
The local people urged the administration to keep an ambulance and doctors permanently stationed in Arnia so that injured were provided first-aid on spot and then shifted to the Government Medical College, Jammu in the ambulance. They also demanded adequate compensation for the damages caused to civilian property in the shelling and firing.
An official handout said the Governor had asked the Divisional Commissioner and the IGP Jammu to extend all necessary assistance to people affected by shelling and firing and provide special medical care to injured civilians. The Governor has wished speedy recovery to injured civilians.
However, there was no migration either from Arnia town or any forward village after latest round of mortar shelling and firing overnight, sources said. Only few days back, over 10,000 border villagers, who had migrated from forward villages of Hiranagar and Samba sectors after heavy Pakistan shelling and firing in first week of this morning, had returned to their houses from the relief camps.
As reported, the BSF had foiled major infiltration attempt by 10 militants at Jabowal between Arnia and RS Pura sectors last night. The militants had retreated to Pakistan after strong retaliation by the BSF.
There have been half-a-dozen ceasefire violations by the Pakistani forces in the past over one week. On January 27, Pakistani rangers had resorted to small arms firing on Border Out Posts (BoPs) in Arnia sector, forcing BSF to retaliate.
On January 25, Pakistani Rangers had resorted to small arms firing along the IB on Jugnu Chak BoP in Jammu.
On January 21, BSF foiled an infiltration bid in Arnia sub-sector. On January 20, Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire by resorting to firing by small arms on BoPs in Jammu district.
On January 13 and 12 also, there was small arms firing by Pakistani Rangers in Samba sector.
Pakistan resorted to firing of mortar shells and small arms along the IB in Hiranagar belt of Kathua district also on January 11. On January 6 also, there was ceasefire violation by Pakistani rangers in Kathua district.

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