5 including govt officer killed, several injured in Rajouri shelling as Pakistan targets administrative quarters

A top government officer was killed and two of his staff critically injured early Saturday when an artillery shell fired by Pakistan struck his residence in Rajouri town, Jammu and Kashmir. The shelling marks a sharp escalation in Pakistan’s cross-border attacks, increasingly targeting civilians and administrative officers.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajouri, Raj Kumar Thapa, was rushed to the Government Medical College along with two staff members after the shell hit his quarters. Thapa succumbed to his injuries, officials confirmed, while his colleagues remain in critical condition.

Reacting to the deadly attack, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah took to X to express his condolences. He said,"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 attack came amid a wave of unprovoked strikes from across the border. In another incident, a drone attack in Punjab’s Ferozepur left three civilians injured, further deepening concern over Pakistan's use of drones and artillery to hit non-military targets.

Two more people, two-year-old Aisha Noor and Mohd Shohib (35), were killed and three others were injured in Pakistani shelling near an industrial area in Rajouri town, the officials said, according to news wire PTI.

The officials also reported that a 55-year-old woman named Rashida Bi lost her life when a mortar shell hit her house at Kanghra-Galhutta village in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.

Ashok Kumar alias Shoki, a resident of Bidipur Jatta village, was killed in cross-border firing along the International Border in the R S Pura sector of Jammu district, they said.

Three more persons were also injured in intense shelling in Poonch and were evacuated to a hospital, they said.

(With PTI inputs)