A senior Jammu and Kashmir official and two other civilians were killed early Saturday in Rajouri amid intense artillery firing by Pakistan as India continued to retaliate to the series of air attacks overnight.
Additional District Development Commissioner of Rajouri, Raj Kumar Thapa, succumbed to critical injuries Saturday morning after a Pakistani shell fell on his house.
and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, expressing his shock and condolences on X, said the unfortunate incident comes just a day after ADC Thapa accompanied deputy CM Surinder Kumar Choudhary around the district as Pakistan continued to target several locations in India, particularly in the UT. He was also part of the online meeting chaired by the CM
“Devastating news from Rajouri. We have lost a dedicated officer of the J&K Administration Services. Just yesterday he was accompanying the Deputy CM around the district & attended the online meeting I chaired. Today the residence of the officer was hit by Pak shelling as they targeted Rajouri town killing our Additional District Development Commissioner Sh Raj Kumar Thappa. I’ve no words to express my shock & sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace,” the CM’s post read.
He also appealed to the people to stay indoors. “Ignore rumours, don’t spread unsubstantiated or unverified stories & we will get through this together,” he added.
Thappa was a 1989 graduate of MBBS from Jammu government medical college.
The early morning escalation came hours after Pakistan, for the second consecutive night, launched swarms of drones targeting military installations in multiple cities along India’s northern and western frontiers.
Meanwhile, India continues to “effectively” engage Pakistan Air Force fighters as their missiles attacked Srinagar. Officials indicated PAF had suffered losses during the engagement.
The union government is scheduled to hold a detailed briefing on the attack launched by Pakistan and India’s retaliation at 10 am.
