A blast in a village in Indian-administered Kashmir has injured five civilians and killed two children, a day after assailants shot at a row of homes in the same area, killing at least four people, according to police.
In the Dhangri village in the southern Rajouri district, the explosion took place close to one of the homes that were attacked overnight on Monday.
Officials stated that the blast resulted in the deaths of a 12-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. They also stated that the injured were being treated at a hospital.
Mukesh Singh, a police officer, told reporters that two men indiscriminately opened fire on three Dhangri homes on Sunday night. He stated that five civilians were wounded and four were killed.
The two attacks at Dhangri, which is close to the highly militarized Line of Control that divides the disputed Himalayan region between India and Pakistan, were committed by armed criminals, according to the police.
It was not clear whether the attackers who struck on Sunday night left behind the explosive. The attackers were being sought by authorities, who quickly dispatched soldiers and police to the scene.
All of the victims in the two incidents were Hindus, and Dhangri is a village with a majority of Hindus.
On Monday, hundreds of people gathered in Dhangri to protest the killings, chanting slogans condemning the perpetrators.
Right-wing Hindu groups demonstrate against the killings in Jammu, India-administered Kashmir [Channi Anand/AP]. They demanded that New Delhi’s top administrator in the region, Manoj Sinha, visit the village and kept the victims’ bodies in a line in the main square.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 10 lakh and a Govt job would be given to the next of kin of each of those civilians martyred in dastardly attack. Seriously injured would be given Rs.1 lakh. Officials have been directed to ensure best treatment to injured.
— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) January 2, 2023
The killings, which Sinha characterized as a “cowardly terror attack,” were also protested by nearly three dozen people in the southern city of Jammu.
He declared, “I assure the people that those responsible for this despicable attack will not go unpunished.”
Sinha paid a visit to the village later on Monday and met with the victims’ families.
Each of India and Pakistan holds title to the divided territory of Kashmir.
Since 1989, rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir have fought against New Delhi’s rule. The rebels’ goal of unifying the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent nation, is supported by the majority of Muslim Kashmiris.
According to Indian officials, fighting killed at least 172 suspected rebels and 26 members of the armed forces last year.
Pakistan denies New Delhi’s claims that it is supporting the rebels, saying that it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmir’s struggle for the right to self-determination.
Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution, which provided Indian-administered Kashmir with partial autonomy, were repealed in 2019 by the Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Anti-India sentiments have grown in the valley as a result of the 2019 move, as well as subsequent laws and policies. This has resulted in a flurry of attacks by suspected rebels on the region’s minority Hindu communities.
In the conflict that has lasted for decades, tens of thousands of civilians, rebels, and government forces have been killed.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES