One child dead, 5 injured in IED blast in J&K’s Rajouri; 2nd terror attack in 12 hours

A child died while five people were injured in an IED blast which took place in Dhangri village of Rajouri in Jammu. The blast took place at the site where four people were killed in a suspected terror attack yesterday evening evening.

“A blast has taken near the house of the first firing incident. 5 persons are injured. One child has succumbed to injuries. Another critical. Media personnel are requested to be cautious. Another suspected IED spotted which is being cleared. Self with div com and IG CRPF reaching the spot”, Mukesh Singh, additional director general of police, said.

This is the second terror attack in the village less than 12 hours after four civilians were killed and six were injured in a suspected terror attack last evening.

Eyewitnesses said the gunmen arrived in the car and fired indiscriminately before fleeing the spot. The deceased were identified as Deepak Kumar, Satish Kumar, Pritam Lal and Shiv Pal.

Those injured were identified as Pawan Kumar, Rohit Pandit, Saroj Bala, Sushil Kumar, Shub Sharma and Urvashi Sharma.

According to eyewitnesses, some people carrying guns arrived in a car and opened fire before fleeing from the spot.

The firing had taken place days after an encounter at Sidhra on the outskirts of Jammu city on December 28. The security forces had gunned down four terrorists, saying that a terror attack had been averted. Seven AK assault rifles, one M4 rifle, three pistols and a large quantity of ammunition were also seized from their possession.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha condemned the terror attack and announced ex-gratia to the families of deceased. “An ex-gratia of Rs. 10 lakh and a Govt job would be given to the next of kin of each of those civilians martyred in dastardly attack. Seriously injured would be given Rs.1 lakh. Officials have been directed to ensure best treatment to injured”, the L-G’s office tweeted.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the incident, and attacked the BJP over the killings. “Condemn this cowardly act & condolences to their families. Despite being under BJP rule & its bogus claims of ending militancy, violence continues unabated. Had J&K had its own elected government, the same media would have hauled them over the coals”, the People’s Democratic Party chief tweeted.