Blast, firing at ex-MLA's house in Poonch

Our Correspondent

Jammu, January 21

An explosion occurred at the house of a former MLA, Choudhary Mohammad Akram, in Lassana village of Poonch district on Friday evening. Gunshots were also fired, officials said on Saturday.

Former Surankote MLA Choudhary Mohammad Akram, who is a prominent Gujjar leader, said the incident occurred at around 7.15 pm on Friday. He was not at home at that point of time. His family had a narrow escape as splinters pierced the ceiling of several rooms of his house in Lassana village, he said.

“I was not home at the time of the incident. Later, I came to know that there was a powerful explosion, followed by some gunshots that were fired. Police and Army officials visited my house immediately after the incident and they are ascertaining the details,” Akram said.

Akram, who resigned from the Congress in solidarity with former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad last year but later distanced himself from Azad’s Democratic Azad Party, demanded a thorough probe into the incident.

A police official said empty cartridges of a 12-bore gun were found from the scene of the incident. “We came to know about a blast near the house of the former legislator and immediately rushed to the scene. A halogen light was found damaged and empty cartridges of a 12-bore gun were found on the spot,” he said, adding that further investigation has been going on.

Meanwhile, a landmine was found near an Army post in the district. It was destroyed through a controlled explosion, officials said. The powerful explosive device, believed to be very old, was noticed by Army personnel near Makhi post in Karmara. It was safely taken to an isolated place by bomb disposal squad experts and was blasted in a controlled explosion without causing any damage, officials added.

Security forces are already alert across the UT as Republic Day is around the corner.

Narrow escape for kin

• Former Surankote MLA and prominent Gujjar leader Choudhary Mohammad Akram says he was not at home when the blast occurred on Friday evening.
• According to him, his family had a narrow escape as splinters pierced the ceiling of several rooms of his house in Lassana village of Poonch district.

Landmine found near Army post

• A landmine was found near an Army post in Poonch district and subsequently destroyed through a controlled explosion.
• The powerful explosive device, believed to be very old, was noticed by Army personnel near Makhi post in Karmara area.

(With PTI inputs)

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