Rajouri: Houses, temple damaged in heavy shelling from Pak forces, Indian Army retaliating

Several houses in the Kalal and Deeing village in Nowshera sector here were damaged due to heavy shelling by Pakistani forces on Sunday, said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) (Nowshera) Brijesh.

"Today firing and heavy mortar shelling from across the border started in the morning, targeting the Deeing and Kalal villages especially. There has been no loss of life but damage to several structures has occurred," Brijesh told ANI here.

Stating the measures taken by the administration to ensure the safety of the people in the region, the police official added, "We move our mobile bunkers (BP bunkers) and provide security to the people who live in the area where firing and shelling occurs. The villagers also have bunkers at their residence which they use to hide during the time of shelling."

The shelling from Pakistan side started at around 9 am and continued till afternoon.

Indian Army too retaliated to the heavy fire from across the border.

A resident of the area alleged that Pakistan had recently taken to targeting civilian areas in order to cause maximum casualty and also blamed them for damaging a place of worship.

"In every ceasefire violation, the Pakistani Army targets the residential areas through mortar shelling which damages the structures in the village. The Indian Army retaliates to the shelling but in recent days the Pakistani forces have taken to targeting houses and temples," a local from the village told ANI.