M A I N   N E W S

Pak UAV shot down in Poonch
Over 15 Pak troops killed, 10 bunkers destroyed
Tribune News Service and PTI

Jammu, January 6
One Pakistan Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was today shot down by an Indian fighter plane in the Poonch sector which was followed by a heavy exchange of mortar and artillery fire in which more than 15 Pak soldiers were killed and 10 bunkers were smashed.

Official sources said that as soon as Indian troops spotted one Pak UAV violating airspace in the Poonch sector the Indian forces opened anti-aircraft gunfire and one fighter plane chased it and shot it down. The Pak UAV is said to have crashed across Betar nallah in the Poonch sector.

The sources said that the Pak plane had been sent on a reconnaissance mission and presumably it was fitted with sophisticated cameras to catch Indian troop deployment.

As soon as the Indian aircraft guns roared the Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling and firing on Indian pickets and posts. The Indian troops retaliated using artillery guns and mortar bombs, destroying several Pak bunkers in which more than 15 Pak soldiers were killed.

Pakistan late in the evening opened another front in the Samba and Nowshehra sectors by pounding the Indian border villages with 88 mm and 106 mm mortar guns.

Indian troops retaliated with long-range guns and automatic grenade rifles destroying nearly eight Pak bunkers and killing seven to 10 Pak soldiers.

Official reports said two Indian soldiers were wounded and one of them succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, a military pilotless remote-controlled vehicle (PRV) crashed near here following a technical snag shortly after take-off this evening, official sources said.

The PRV developed the snag after take off from an airbase and crashed in the Chatta area, some 10 km from here, the sources said.

In Islamabad, a Pakistani Defence spokesman denied the shooting down one of its spy plane and accused India of unleashing a propaganda to cover up the loss of its own UAV.

Restrict Press movement, Army asks Punjab
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 6
Even as the Army has reportedly sought the help of the state government to take action against the mediapersons who have been reporting about the deployment of Army in the sensitive border areas, the District Magistrates of Amritsar and Gurdaspur may impose ban orders under Section 144 with a view to restrict the movement of the Press.

An order has already been passed by the District Magistrate Ferozepore in this regard. On the request of Army higher officials, the Ferozepore police may register a case against a correspondent of a vernacular paper from Jalalabad under the Indian Official Secret Act, who had given details on the deployment of Army in the sensitive areas. Under the ban orders, no mediaperson would be allowed to cover the movements of the Army in the border areas.

The Act, which has the provision of a sentence ranging from three years to 14 years, can also be invoked in other border areas of the country, including Rajasthan. The Act reads, “If any person enters any prohibited place or makes any sketch, plan, model which might be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy or obtains records or publishes or communicates to any other person any secret official code or password or any other document/information, he shall be imprisoned for upto 14 years”. The Act also prohibits any person from passing any information on mine fields, dockyards, Army camps, ship or aircraft.

According to sources, some District Magistrates have also reported the irresponsible reporting of certain mediapersons to the state and central Home Departments, and legal opinions are also being sought in this regard.