Six days short of turning 23, Army Captain killed in Pak firing

An Army Captain, who was among those killed in the heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, was six days short of his 23rd birthday, a senior army official said.

Captain Kapil Kundu from Ransika village of Gurugram district was killed when the Pakistani forces opened unprovoked firing and shelling along the LoC in the Bhimbher Gali sector of Rajouri district on Sunday evening.

He would have turned 23 on February 10, the official said.

In the shelling, three jawans were also killed, senior army officials said.

Earlier in on Sunday, two teenagers and a jawan were injured in the Shahpur sector of Poonch district in the shelling from across the border, a police official said.

Meanwhile, all schools situated within five kilometres of the Line of Control in Rajouri have been closed by authorities for three days in view of firing and shelling by Pakistani troops.

"All 84 schools located in 0-5 km from the LoC stretch from Sunderbani to Manjakote shall remain closed for the next three days," Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri Shahid Iqbal said.

The officials said that the situation was very tense as firing and shelling by Pakistani troops continued round the clock.

In January, schools along the International Border and the LoC in five districts -- Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch -- were closed for over a fortnight because of firing and shelling by Pakistani troops.