india

Updated: Jul 30, 2019 00:03 IST

A 10-day-old baby injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch sector died from his injuries at a Poonch hospital late on Sunday night, the police said.

The infant, his mother Fatima Jan (35) and another civilian Mohammad Arif (40) were injured when mortar shells fired by Pakistan hit their village in Shahpur sector on Sunday. They were rushed to the district hospital in Poonch, where the baby succumbed to its injuries. Jan and Arif are stable, according to the police.

“The baby was undergoing treatment at the hospital but unfortunately succumbed to injuries after 12.30 am on Sunday night (Monday morning),” said Rahul Yadav, deputy commissioner, Poonch.

Yadav said that Pakistani troops resorted to indiscriminate firing and shelling in the Shahpur area and targeted civilian population.

“Firing and shelling stopped after midnight,” he said.

According to the police, mortars and small arms were used from across the border to target forward posts and villages in Shahpur, Saujiyan and Mendhar sectors between 5 pm and 10 pm on Sunday. Several houses were damaged in the firing, the police said.

Meanwhile, cross-border firing by Pakistani troops continued for the second successive day on Monday, prompting a strong response from Indian soldiers, an Indian Army spokesperson said.

“At about 12.45 hours, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing of small arms and shelling with mortars along LoC in Shahpur sector. Indian Army is retaliating befittingly,” the spokesperson added.

The army spokesperson said information on casualties on the Pakistani side was not immediately available.

On July 22, an Indian soldier was killed in Pakistani firing in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, while a civilian was injured in another incident of cross-border firing by Pakistan in Poonch sector on July 20.