2 civilians killed, 1 injured in firing outside Army camp

Rajouri, Dec 16: Two civilians from Phalyana locality of Rajouri town were killed while a man from Uttrakhand sustained injuries in an incident of firing at the gate of an Army camp in Rajouri town on Friday.

At around 6:30 am gunshots were heard at the gate of Alpha Gate of the Army camp. “Ten to 12 gun shots were heard from the site of the incident and later two bodies were found while one man was lying in an injured condition,” officials said.

   

They said that the injured man was identified as Anil Kumar, son of Bali Ram of Ranikhet, Uttrakhand and was shifted to Government Medical College and Associated Hospital Rajouri where he was operated on.

Officials said that the two men lying dead were identified as Surinder Kumar, son of Om Parkash and Kamal Kishore, son of Sadhu Ram of Ward 15, Phalyana in Rajouri.

Both the deceased were working as labourers in shops inside the Army camp.

Soon after the news of the firing incident spread in the area, a large number of locals and relatives as well as family members of both the dead reached the spot and started a massive protest demonstration blocking the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch National Highway outside the Alpha Gate of the Army camp. Locals alleged that the firing incident was mysterious and demanded an in depth investigation to ascertain all circumstances under which it had taken place.

They also called for a probe into the role of the Army personnel deployed as sentries on the gate of the Army camp.

Due to the protest, the vehicular traffic on the highway got suspended.

Multiple incidents of stone pelting were also reported at the gates of the Army camp resulting in damage to the boundary walls.

The protest lasted for over six hours with vehicular traffic remaining suspended after which officers including Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Rajouri-Poonch Range, Haseeb Mughal, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rajouri, Vikas Kundal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Aslam, and Deputy GoC Ace of Spades Division managed to pacify the protest on assurance that jobs will be provided to one family member of both the victims who would also be provided ex-gratia while expenses of study of children of victims would be borne by the government.

The bodies were later shifted to GMC Associated Hospital Rajouri where post mortem examination was conducted.

Meanwhile, the Army in an official statement said that the incident is related to an incident of firing by unidentified terrorists.

“In an early morning firing incident by unidentified terrorists at Rajouri near the military hospital, there has been fatal casualty of two individuals. The Police, security forces and civil administration officials are on the site,” Army said in a statement.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

five × five =