Senior J&K official among five killed in Pakistani shelling in Jammu region
Rajouri, May 10: A senior Jammu and Kashmir official was among five civilians killed on Saturday morning as Pakistani forces carried out intense shelling across multiple areas in the Jammu region. The attacks come amid ongoing air and drone strikes along India’s northern and western frontiers.
Raj Kumar Thapa (55), Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) of Rajouri, lost his life after a Pakistani artillery shell hit his residence in Rajouri town early Saturday. Thapa, a 1989 MBBS graduate from Jammu Government Medical College, was critically injured in the blast and later succumbed to his injuries.
Just a day earlier, Thapa had accompanied Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary on a district visit and had attended a high-level online meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Expressing his condolences on social media platform X, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote,
**“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 and attended the online meeting I chaired. Today, his residence was hit by Pakistani shelling. I have no words to express my shock and sadness at this terrible loss of life. May his soul rest in peace.”**
He further urged the public to stay indoors and avoid sharing or believing in unverified rumours.
In a separate incident in Kheri village near Raipur on the outskirts of Jammu city, a civilian named Zakir Hussain was killed when another shell hit his house. Several members of his family were injured in the blast.
In yet another shelling-related incident, Ashok Kumar of Kheri Jattan and three of his relatives were wounded while they were trying to move to a safer location.
The latest attacks have pushed the civilian death toll in the Jammu region to five. This includes two residents from Bihar who died in Rajouri town and a woman who was killed in the Mendhar area of Poonch district during earlier strikes.
The early morning shelling marked a sharp escalation in cross-border hostilities. It came just hours after Pakistan launched swarms of drones for the second night in a row, targeting Indian military positions in several cities close to the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border.
According to officials, the Indian Air Force continued to effectively engage Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighters in response to these provocations. They also hinted that the PAF may have suffered losses during the overnight engagements, particularly in the Srinagar sector, which came under missile attack.
The situation remains tense in several border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, with local authorities urging residents to stay alert and follow safety advisories amid the continuing hostilities.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
