Two Army personnel were killed in a mine blast on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kargil sector of Ladakh District on July 31, reports Daily Excelsior. The Army personnel have been identified as Subedar Basappa Patil and Sepoy Hasansab, who were part of the patrolling party along the LoC with Pakistan. Defence spokesperson Ministry of Defence (MoD) Colonel SD Goswami said the Army soldiers were martyred while patrolling along the LoC in Kargil sector when they were caught in a mine blast. They suffered grievous injuries, and later succumbed to their injuries.
Curfewe continues
Meanwhile the curfew continued on July 31 in the areas falling under six Police Stations in downtown and Batamaloo area of Srinagar and in towns of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam, reports Daily Excelsior. Restrictions were placed in Baramulla town, Bandipora, Handwara areas and in Imam Sahib Area of Shopian District to prevent any protests. The shutdown called by the separatists also continued, with both curfew and shutdown paralyzing life in the Valley for 23rd consecutive day on July 31.
A rally was organized by the youth in Kareemabad village in Pulwama District on July 31, which was attended by thousands of people, reports Daily Excelsior. Thousands of youth gathered in a ground, adjacent to the graveyard where militants are buried in Kareemabad. The youth had come from different villages of the district including Rajpora, Pinglana, Kakapora, Gudoora, Pahoo, Lelhar, Panzgam, Lajoora, Puchal and several other villages to attend the rally. Protests broke out at several places across Kashmir and Police and Security Forces resorted to teargas shelling to disperse them.
LeT commander ‘attends’ Pulwama gathering
Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) most wanted commander Abu Dujana reportedly attended a gathering in Karimabad in Jammu and
Kashmir’s
Pulwama district Sunday. Despite a curfew in place, thousands reached
Karimabad for the gathering at “martyrs’ cemetery” in the village and
raised pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Pulwama is the native village
of several militants killed in recent past.
Dujana reportedly attended the gathering wearing a mask and was seen
surrounded by a lot of people. Dujana, who has been heading the outfit
in the Valley after LeT commander Qasim was killed, is the mastermind
behind several attacks. These include the fidayeen attack on a CRPF
convoy at Pampore and a similar attack at Entrepreneurship Development
Institute.
Meanwhile, the curfew and the shutdown called by separatists crippled
the Valley. At several places, protesters defied the restrictions and
hit the streets. Five persons were injured when security forces fired
pellets at Imamsahib village in Shopian.
People offer funeral prayers for civilians killed in the violence, in
Srinagar Sunday. (Source: Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
