Briefs: Soldier killed in accidental weapon discharge in Jammu
Incident occurred during operational duty at forward Jogwan area of Khour
An Army personnel lost his life after his service rifle accidentally discharged while he was on duty at a post in Akhnoor sector of Jammu, officials said on Monday. The incident occurred during operational duty at forward Jogwan area of Khour on Sunday, the officials said. They said preliminary information suggests that the weapon of the soldier went off accidentally, causing critical injuries to him. He was immediately provided medical assistance but succumbed to injuries, the officials said.They said the body of the slain soldier was shifted to military hospital Akhnoor for postmortem and would be handed over to his next of kin after completion of legal formalities.
Two rusted mortar shells found in Poonch, destroyed
Two rusted mortar shells were recovered from two forward villages in Poonch district on Monday and safely destroyed by the Army's Bomb Disposal Squad, officials said. In the first case, villagers spotted an unexploded mortar shell in an open field near Chajjla bridge in Mankote area and immediately alerted the police and security forces, who rushed to the spot and secured the area, the officials said. They said the Army Bomb Disposal Squad was subsequently called in to examine the explosive, which was later destroyed in a controlled explosion following all standard safety procedures. Another unexploded mortar shell was found in agricultural fields in Adhaki village near Mendhar Nallah, the officials said, adding the explosive was safely neutralised by the experts. The unexploded ordnance is believed to be a remnant of past cross-border shelling along the Line of Control (LoC), the officials said.
Over 1,000 pilgrims leave Jammu for Amarnath shrine
Jammu: The 26th batch of over 1,000 devotees left Jammu base camp on Monday for the annual Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir amid multi-tier security arrangements, officials said. Over 4.50 lakh pilgrims have visited the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir Himalayas since the commencement of the yatra on July 3. As many 1,056 pilgrims left from Bhagwati Nagar basecamp here for Baltal in 46 vehicles around 2.50 am, they said. The pilgrims included 832 men, 205 women, two children, 15 sadhus and two sadhvis. With departure of today's batch, the total number of pilgrims who have left the Jammu base camp for the annual pilgrimage has risen to 1.40 lakh, officials said. This is the smallest batch that has left for the yatra. — PTI
