Tragic Shelling in Jammu: Senior Official Among Five Lives Lost

Devastating Incident in Jammu Districts

Jammu: Early Saturday morning, a tragic incident unfolded as heavy shelling from Pakistan resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including a senior government official, and left several others injured across Rajouri, Poonch, and Jammu districts.

Raj Kumar Thapa, the Additional District Development Commissioner of Rajouri, along with two of his staff members, sustained serious injuries when an artillery shell struck his official residence in Rajouri town. They were promptly transported to the Government Medical College, where Thapa ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Expressing his condolences, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to social media, stating, "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, the residence of the officer was hit by Pak shelling, killing our Additional District Development Commissioner Raj Kumar Thappa. I have no words to express my shock and sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace."

In addition to Thapa, two other victims—a two-year-old girl named Aisha Noor and a 35-year-old man, Mohd Shohib—were killed, while three others were injured due to shelling near an industrial area in Rajouri town.

Officials reported that a 55-year-old woman, Rashida Bi, lost her life when a mortar shell struck her home in the Kanghra-Galhutta village of the Mendhar sector in Poonch district.

Furthermore, Ashok Kumar, known as Shoki, from Bidipur Jatta village, was killed in cross-border firing along the International Border in the R S Pura sector of Jammu district. Three additional individuals were injured in the intense shelling in Poonch and were taken to a hospital for treatment.

In Jammu city, several residents were also injured when artillery shells and suspected drones targeted residential areas, including Rehari and Rupnagar.