The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sunday, August 20, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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Army porter killed in shelling
Tribune News Service and agencies

SRINAGAR, Aug 19 — An Army porter was killed and eight civilians were wounded as Pakistani troops continued unprovoked and indiscriminate shelling along the Line of Control in north Kashmir for the third day today.

Twenty residential houses and shops were also damaged in the shelling from across the border in Teetwal, Karnah, Keran and Uri sectors, official sources said.

An official spokesman said the porter, identified as Noor Din, was killed while two sustained injuries when a barrage of artillery and mortar shells hit forward villages of Choranda and Chang-Devar in Uri sector this afternoon.

Six civilians were wounded and 20 residential houses were damaged in the shelling in Uri, Karnah and Keran and Teetwal sectors last night.

Panic-stricken people abandoned their houses immediately after the Pakistani troops began unprovoked shelling on Thursday and shifted to safer places within the villages, the sources said adding several shops were damaged in today’s shelling in Uri and Karnah sectors.

Casualties on the Pakistani side in the retaliatory fire by the Indian troops were not immediately known, the sources said.

At least six persons, including four militants, were killed in separate incidents of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday.

Two unidentified militants, according to a police spokesman, were killed in an encounter with the forces at Kaloosa, Bandipora, in Baramula district this morning. An SPO or a counter-insurgent was also injured. The police said the security forces laid an ambush at Kaloosa on receipt of specific information.

In another encounter at Mirnag forest area of Kupwara district, two militants were killed. They were identified as Bashir Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi of Haihama. Three rifles and two hand grenades with eight magazines with 260 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the site.

Unidentified militants shot dead a former militant, Dilawar Beigh, at Sirajpora, in Kupwara district last night. The police said the militants intruded into his house last night and kidnapped him. He was shot dead in a nearby forest.

An SPO or a counter-insurgent, Mushtaq Hussain Shah, was killed by militants when they intruded into his house at Bachianwali in Surankote sector of Poonch district.

Barring stray incidents of violence in which protesters smashed Matadors and blocked roads by burning tyres, the bandh in Jammu and R.S. Pora passed off peacefully today.

Fire destroys shopping complex
From Kishori Lal

BAROT, (Mandi) Aug 19 — Almost the entire shopping complex, including the Himachal Gramin Bank, the Himachal Cooperative Bank, office of the SDO, HPSEB, and the post-office here were reduced to ashes in a devastating fire which broke out last night at a tourist resort, 65 km from Mandi in Jogindernagar subdivision.

Mr Prabodh Saxena, who rushed here early this morning, told mediapersons that the loss to property was roughly over Rs 1.5 crore.The estimate had been unofficially estimated at Rs 3 crore.There was no loss of life due to the timely evacuation of over 100 persons sleeping in the shopping complex.

The fire was first noticed at 1.15 a.m. by a tailor who raised the alarm. Fire tenders from Mandi and Palampur reached the site 6 a.m., but by that time the fire had consumed the entire complex.

Mr O.C. Thakur, SP, told mediapersons that following reports that miscreants had set the market on fire, a case had been registered and experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory were being rushed here from Shimla.

As many as 12 shops had been completely destroyed while an equal number had been damaged. As many as 30 tenants have been rendered homeless. They are being rehabilitated by the Deputy Commissioner and his team of officials who are camping here to supervise relief work. People have been shifted to schools, panchayat ghars and other places.

Mr Saxena said a sum of about Rs 1 lakh had been disbursed as immediate relief among the affected and arrangement for food and blankets was also being made.

Mr Ramesh Sood, president of the Jogindernagar Beopar Mandal, also gave a sum of Rs 5,000 as immediate help to the victims. The Journalists Unions of Mandi and Jogindernagar have decided to donate a sum of Rs 20,000 to a member of their union who has lost everything in the fire.