BSF constable dies after cross-border firing incident in Jammu and Kashmir’s RS Pura sector
Sushil Kumar, who sustained chest wounds, became the second security officer to be killed in as many days during cross-border firing.
Border Security Force head constable Sushil Kumar on Sunday died from injuries he sustained during a cross-border firing incident with Pakistani forces, NDTV reported. Kumar was being treated for chest wounds after India claimed Pakistan had violated ceasefire agreements along the border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kumar was sent to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu for treatment, but died a short while after arriving there, according to India Today. This came even as violence from across the border continued in the sector, with Pakistani forces firing mortar shells and small arms into the Indian side. A separate violation was also reported in the Pargwal sector near Jammu, according to ANI.
Three other people including an Assistant Sub-Inspector were injured in the incidents, according to The Indian Express. Damage to civilian property was also reported, with people staying indoors waiting for the shelling to stop. Sunday's ceasefire violation took place after a nearly 48-hour lull in firing along the international border.
Kumar’s death is the second in as many days as ceasefire violations along the international border continue. On Saturday, BSF constable Gurnam Singh died after sustaining bullet wounds on his head during cross-border firing in the Kathua district near Jammu and Kashmir’s border with Punjab. Seven Pakistani soldiers and one militant were killed during the incident, the BSF had said.
However, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations on Friday denied the Indian security force’s claims, and said Pakistani rangers had “befittingly responded” after the Indian side “resorted to unprovoked fire/shelling at the working boundary in Shakargarh sector”.
India has said that there has been an increase in ceasefire violations after it carried out surgical strikes on “terror launchpads” along the Line of Control on September 29. Officials reported breaches on October 3, 4 and 5 along the border in the region. On September 18, militants had attacked an Indian Army installation in Uri, killing 19 soldiers. India had accused Pakistan of being involved in the attack, but Islamabad has dismissed the allegations as “baseless”.