HM reviews situation with BSF chief from Bahrain
Pak trying to create flash-point: Sharma
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 24: In one of the worst act of targeting innocent civilians, cattle and their property on the borders, the Pakistani Rangers last night targeted several forward areas from Suchetgarh to Pargwal sectors killing a BSF jawan and a six year old child and injuring eight others including two BSF personnel and six civilians while 50 cattle perished and 182 others were seriously injured.
The mortar shells, which started raining from Pakistan side at 9.50 pm in RS Pura sector last night, extended to Arnia, Suchetgarh, Gajansoo-Marh, Kanachak and Pargwal by mid-night and continued till late this morning. In many areas, shelling and firing continued even during the daytime.
Heavy shelling and firing from Pakistan side, which was replied very promptly and effectively by the BSF, took into its grip many forward villages, which earlier were untouched and peaceful like parts of Gajansoo-Marh, Fatehpur Salaria, Kothi etc in RS Pura and people there had no place for shelter as they had no such provision.
The heavy shelling prompted Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to speak to Director General of BSF, KK Sharma from Bahrain, where he is on three-day visit, to review the border situation. After the review, the DG BSF reached Jammu.
“Spoke to DG BSF who apprised me of the situation in border areas of Jammu region. The BSF is capable of giving befitting reply.
“I salute the bravery and sacrifice of BSF jawan Sushil Kumar, who was martyred in RS Pura sector of Jammu region last night,” Singh tweeted from Bahrain.
The DG BSF briefed the Home Minister on the situation along Jammu borders including “very effective and adequate” response being given by the BSF to Rangers.
Pakistan media claimed that two civilians were killed in retaliatory firing by the BSF and many others injured.
Official sources told the Excelsior that BSF head constable Sushil Kumar was seriously injured in mortar selling and firing at forward area of Sangral in RS Pura sector at 12.30 am early today. He was evacuated from the spot and shifted to the Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, where he breathed his last.
Forty-eight year old Sushil Kumar hailed from Pihova, Kurukshetra in Haryana. He was manning the forward post when he was seriously injured in Pakistan shelling and firing and attained martyrdom.
The BSF lost its second jawan during the shelling, the first being Gurnam Singh, who was killed while manning Bobiya post in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district. He was cremated today while body of Sushil Kumar was sent to Pihova this afternoon with full honours after wreath laying ceremony at BSF Headquarters in Paloura.
BSF ASI RD Puri son of Dukhran Puri R/o Sivan, Bihar, was injured in the shelling at Abdullian, RS Pura while another jawan Ayaspa Babu was injured at forward post in Pargwal sector of Akhnoor tehsil. Both have been hospitalized and were responding to the treatment.
A minor boy Vicky, aged 6, son of Varinder Kumar R/o Bihar, presently putting up at Lalyal in Kanachak was killed in mortar shelling at around 8 am today while another Bihari labourer Ganya Devi wife of Chandan was injured at Lalyal.
The boy was inside his `kullah’ till 8 am but as soon as he came out, he was hit by a mortar shell and killed. The Bihari labourers had been putting up in `kullahs’ at Lalyal and working in the fields of local people.
Other civilians injured in Pakistan shelling and firing have been identified as Girdhari Lal, 65, son of Dharam Chand R/o Sei, RS Pura, who was hit by splinters of the shell at Devigarh, Krishna Devi, 65, wife of Chain Dass R/o Treva, who was hit by mortar shell inside her house, Prakasho Devi, 62, wife of Fangu Ram of Gajansoo Sunil Singh, 2, R/o Garkhal, Kanachak and Girdhari Lal son of Dharam Chand of Sei, who was injured at Devigarh.
A total of 50 cattle were killed and 182 injured, most of them seriously, right from Arnia to Pargwal last night after being hit by mortar shells and bullets.
A mortar shell exploded inside Kanachak police station causing damage to outerwall, a room and 2 cars parked inside. Window panes of the building were also damaged.
In the evening IGP Jammu Danish Rana and SSP Jammu Sunil Gupta visited Kanachak police station and boosted morale of the police personnel. They called upon the cops to maintain extra caution.
Meanwhile, the State Government today ordered compensation for the people, who have lost their cattle in the shelling as per SDRF norms.
Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal told the Excelsior that the livestock was earlier neither covered under SDRF norms nor in Security Related Expenditure (SRE), a result of which people were not getting anything for the cattle killed in the shelling.
However, he said, the Government today ordered that all dead cattle be covered under the SDRF norms and people paid compensation.
The SDRF norms provide for Rs 30,000 for dead cattle (cow or buffalo), Rs 3,000 for small animals like sheep and goat but with the ceiling of maximum payment of Rs 90,000. However, the SDRF norms didn’t provide any compensation for the injured animals on the ground that they would be treated in the Government run Veterinary hospitals.
Kotwal said there was a provision of compensation for damage caused to the houses and structures in border shelling and firing, which will be paid after the assessment.
Sources said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has approved payment of compensation to cattle under the SDRF norms after the issue was taken up with her by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh.
The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu said the Contingency Plan has already been enforced in entire border belt of Jammu province under which Government accommodation has been identified to house the border migrants.
Schools in majority of border belt remained closed today. Akhnoor-Pargwal road was also closed for traffic in the morning in view of heavy shelling from across the border.
Sources said a large number of houses, cowsheds, other small structures and `kullahs’ were extensively damaged in the border villages overnight. However, exact number of houses and other structures damaged in the shelling is being ascertained, sources said, adding such was intensity of the mortar shelling that sound of the blasts continued to be heard in the towns and City overnight.
The Rangers appeared to have used long range guns to target civilian areas on the Indian side due to which mortar shells fell in the villages, which were peaceful and were not hit by the shelling in the past. The people in such villages like Fatehpur Salaria Kothi were taken by surprised when shells started landing in their fields.
Sources said the BSF gave very effective response to the shelling by Pakistan.
“Our response was very effective,” a BSF officer said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Army today claimed that two people, including a minor girl, were killed in “unprovoked firing” by the BSF.
Pakistan army, in a statement, alleged that the Indian soldiers resorted to firing and shelling in Harpal, Pukhlian and Charwah sectors on the working boundary.
Due to India’s “unprovoked firing” at the working boundary last night a civilian of village Janglora and a one and a half-years old girl were killed while seven civilians were injured, it said.
There have been over 40 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops since India carried out surgical strikes in PoK after the Uri terror attack in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed.
Meanwhile, BSF DG KK Sharma, who reached here this afternoon to join wreath laying ceremony of martyr BSF head constable Sushil Kumar and review situation on the borders after briefing Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters that Pakistani forces are deliberately trying to “create a flash point” to facilitate infiltration of militants into India and asserted that these designs will be foiled.
He insisted that BSF never initiates ceasefire violations nor does it target civilian areas, a comment that assumes significance in the wake of Pakistan army’s claim that two people, including a minor girl, were killed in firing by Indian troops.
“They (Pakistani forces) deliberately create such flash points with an aim of engineering infiltration,” he said while commenting on the intensified cross- border shelling and firing by Pakistani troops.
“You can say that they (Pakistani troops) always try to create a flash point so that they get an excuse to go for action,” Sharma added after laying wreath on mortal remains of BSF Head Constable Sushil Kumar who was killed in Pakistani shelling in R S Pura sector this morning.
The BSF Director General said while Pakistan may start the confrontation, “we are committed to give befitting reply and foiling their designs of infiltration…. We have to react so that we do not allow them to get successful in their designs to engineer infiltration from across the border.”
He said the morale of the troops is “very high and we are ready to meet any eventuality”.
Asserting that BSF never initiates ceasefire violation, he said the Indian border guarding force only gives a “befitting reply” to the provocations by the Pakistani forces.
“I want to clarify that we have never initiated (any ceasefire violation). It is Pakistan which is doing it. As you know in case of (BSF constable) Gurnam Singh, they killed him in a sniper fire first. In reply to that we gave them befitting reply,” Sharma said, referring to last week’s incident in which BSF claimed to have killed 7 Pakistani Rangers and a terrorist in retaliatory fire.
“The way they are bombarding our areas, they are targeting civilians but as a policy, BSF does not target civilians at all,” Sharma said.
“We only target the place from where the fire is coming. We only target military and Pakistani Rangers establishments. We never intentionally target civilian areas,” he added.
About today’s incident, he said, “They initiated heavy shelling in R S Pura, we retaliated to that.”
He added, “.. The area weapons do not have great amount of accuracy. As a result, civilians are also harmed, property is also damaged. That is the collateral damage.”
In reply to another question about his message and directive to the field commanders, Sharma said “I have asked my commanders not to initiate anything. But at the same time give them befitting and strong reply”.
Sending out a message, the BSF DG said, “I would like to convey to Pakistan that as in the past, they will have to retreat. I will only tell them that they should desist from unholy designs and they should not do anything that will harm us as in the past.”
Giving details about last night’s incidents of firing and shelling, the BSF DG said a vital organ of Head Constable Sushil Kumar was hit by a bullet due to which he later died. “From my side and on behalf of BSF and the country, we praise the role and supreme sacrifice of the brave-heart jawan and pay tributes to him,” he said.
“We are sad over the death of two jawans whom we have paid tributes from this campus alone but I want to assure you that we will give a befitting reply to this action of Pakistan,” Sharma said.
“As you know for past few days there have been firing exchanges on the two sides and Pakistan has been initiating firing and shelling,” he said.
The DG said, “I was told that there is a huge loss of life and property on the other side. My officers told me that opposite to our Chenab post, there lies Tariq post of Pakistan where ambulances were seen. There is also loss and damage to the Pak Rangers as well”.
When pointed out that there are generally ceasefire violations by Pakistan during this time, he said, “I agree with you that in 2014 and 2015 during this period only there have been hostilities from the Pakistan side. “As you know we have always given them a befitting reply and I assure you that we will give them a befitting reply this time as well.”
Replying to another question about the security situation along the border line, he said “I think they are still smarting over the surgical actions taken by Army”.
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