Fire in forest areas of Rajouri, Poonch

Jammu: Fire engulfed two forest areas in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region on Wednesday, causing damage to vast tracts of land, officials said. In Poonch, the fire erupted in Bhatadurian area near the Line of Control (LoC) in Mendhar belt and spread to nearby areas, they said. Another blaze broke out in Rajouri’s Nowshera forest, prompting locals and forest department officials to launch a firefighting operation, the officials said. Teams are working tirelessly to control the blaze and prevent further damage to the ecologically sensitive area, they said. PTI

Woman injured in mortar shell blast dies

Jammu: A 76-year-old woman, who was among three people injured in a mortar shell blast, died at a government hospital here on Wednesday, officials said. Semroo Devi, Rameet Singh (66) and Suriya Bibi (58) were injured after the rusted mortar shell exploded in Khada Madana village in the Purmandal area of Samba district on May 27. Devi had suffered critical head injuries. The condition of the other two is stated to be stable, they said. PTI

Rs 4.4 L defrauded online recovered

Jammu: The Rajouri Cyber Investigation Unit, a dedicated unit to deal with cases of online frauds and cybercrime, has recovered Rs 4.48 lakh which were duped online. “Separate financial fraud cases were registered in Rajouri by six different victims after which an investigation was started. The cyber unit achieved success by recovering Rs 4,48,568 defrauded from six affected victims,” an official said. OC

Army saves life of critically ill nomad

Jammu: Army troops on Wednesday carried a man to a hospital on their shoulders after he fell critically ill in the upper reaches of Doda district, saving his life. Salamudden S Shahbudeen, a Gujjar nomad hailing from Paghthali village of Kathua, had come to the Bhalpadri meadow to set up a temporary shelter but fell unconscious with very high fever and chest congestion, the official said. His wife approached the Army personnel following which an operational team of the Army battalion rushed to the spot. However, as the man’s condition was serious, the troops carried him on their shoulders to the nearest hospital, he said.