Four Border Security Force personnel, including an assistant commandant, were killed on Wednesday as Pakistan Rangers once again broke the ceasefire pact and targeted Indian positions in Ramgarh sector of Jammu division with mortar shelling.
A BSF spokesman identified the martyred BSF personnel as Assistant Commandant Jitender Singh, Sub-Inspector Rajneesh, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ramniwas and Constable Hansraj.
The high trajectory weapons firing by Pakistan Rangers started in the Ramgarh sector in Samba district of Jammu around 9.40 pm on Tuesday, said the spokesman, adding that the BSF strongly retaliated to the unprovoked firing but lost four of its personnel.
Three severely injured BSF personnel have been evacuated to hospital for treatment.
Further details are awaited.
All the martyred and injured jawans belonged to the 62 battalion of BSF.
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Pakistan has violated ceasefire several times since the Directors-General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan agreed to strictly adhere to the ceasefire pact of 2003 and settle any border disputes through discussion. There had been two meetings of sector commanders of BSF and Pakistan Rangers too who had resolved to strictly maintain the ceasefire.
On Tuesday, two Jammu and Kashmir policemen lost their lives to militant bullets in the Pulwama court complex on Tuesday. The militants also injured another constable, and looted their rifles in a pre-dawn attack.
The two police constables, Ghulam Rasool and Ghulam Hassan, were manning a police picket in the court complex.
In another incident in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, ten CRPF personnel were injured when militants hurled a grenade.
In a statement, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed her sympathies to the bereaved families and described the act of terrorism as “highly reprehensible”.
Expressing concern over the rising incidents of terror attacks during the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Centre during the holy month of Ramzan, National Conference vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “With the militant organisations doing their best to make sure the ceasefire is a failure they will only have themselves to blame if the security forces come back at them even harder when the ceasefire ends.”
Rising incidents of attacks on security forces with grenades during the Centre’s unilateral ceasefire during Ramzan is causing concern ahead of the Amarnath pilgrimage starting on 28 June.
Five security personnel lost their life and about 50 policemen and civilians were injured in terror attacks during the Ramzan.