Terrorists gun down 2 civilians near Rajouri Army camp; locals cry foul

Samaan Lateef
Srinagar, December 16

Terrorists killed two civilians and wounded another on Friday after opening fire at them outside a military camp in Rajouri district, triggering civilian protests.

The attack took place at 6.15 am outside the camp under Northern Command’s White Knight Corps.

“In an early morning firing incident by unidentified terrorists at Rajouri near Military Hospital, there has been fatal casualty of two individuals. The police, security forces and civil administration officials are at the site,” the White Knight Corps tweeted.

The slain civilians worked at the Army camp.

Locals and relatives of the slain men, however, hurled stones at the Army camp, accusing the soldier posted at the Traffic Control Point (TCP) outside the camp of opening fire at the civilians.

They burned tyres and blocked the Jammu-Poonch national highway, demanding a probe into the incident. The slain men have been identified as Kamal Kumar and Surinder Kumar, both residents of Rajouri, and the injured as Anil Kumar of Uttarakhand. He has been admitted to the nearby military hospital.

Senior civil and police officers reached the spot and pacified the locals by assuring them of an impartial probe into the incident.

Officials said the situation in the town was tense but under control.

The Army said investigation was underway to ascertain the facts behind the attack. The police have registered an FIR into the incident. “We assure a fair probe in a professional manner,” said DIG Haseeb Mughal.