8-Month-Old Loses Battle For Life As Pakistan Showers Bullets

“What hatred do you have towards an eight month old?”

A woman carries her son injured in cross-border firing to a hospital, in Jammu on 23 May

(Photo: PTI)

Video Editor: Mohd. Ibrahim

As Pakistan showered bullets and mortar shells in villages along the LoC in Jammu, eight-month-old Nitish Kumar cried out in the middle of the night. His parents woke up to find their son's clothes stained in blood.

We went to fetch the ambulance which was stationed 3-4kms away. Took us a while to come back. We took him to a hospital in Akhnoor, where the doctor said that he had died two hours ago. And returned the body to us.

Gopal Das, Father of Victim 

There has been heavy firing along the border by Pakistan troops for six days in a row. What’s worse, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire agreement which was set in motion during the holy month of Ramzan, claiming lives of at least five civilians and damages several houses in villages located along the border.

A villager shows a roof allegedly damaged in shelling by Pakistan troops

The latest round of shelling started on 15 May when the BSF foiled two infiltration attempts by Pakistan-backed infiltrators in Samba sector. The shelling intensified a day after Pakistan "pleaded" with the BSF to stop firing after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a Pak soldier dead on 20 May.

While the cross-border firings were earlier restricted to areas south of the Pir Panjal range, Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire across a larger area along the Line of Control of late, The Indian Express quoted unidentified sources as saying.

A villager walks past a damaged house after heavy shelling by Pakistani forces at Jora Farm in R S Pura Sector, Jammu, on 22 May

Locals have been taking shelter in government camps or fleeing the villages and finding refuge elsewhere.

The state has witnessed a spurt in shellingby Pak forces and firing along the LoC this year. Over 700 such incidents have already been reported this year, which have left over 40 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.