Rajnath Singh Meets Families Of 3 Civilians Killed After J&K Attack

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday met the families of three civilians who were killed near the site of an anti-terrorist operation in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, four Army personnel were killed and three others were injured after heavily armed terrorists ambushed two Army vehicles near Thanamandi in the Rajouri sector on Thursday last week.

Rajnath Singh was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Singh.

After meeting the defence minister, the brother of the victim, Noor Mohammad, said that Rajnath Singh had assured them of justice.

"We told him about the incident, and he assured us justice would be done. Whatever happened to us was bad, and he assured us that justice would be given. We hope it will be done," Mohammad said.

Meanwhile, Mohamad Sadiq, uncle of the victim, said that justice should be given in quick time.

"Justice should be done and justice should be given in a timely manner. We welcome the Defence Minister, who came and met us and assured us of justice," he added.

Shehnaz Ganai, ex-MLC, said that the defence minister and LG came and he met victim families and assured justice would be given.

"Raksha Mantri and LG came and he met victim families and he assured justice would be served and judicial probe would be done. Our Rajouri Poonch people are always with country, I want to say to people of that we should fight against those people who want to create havoc in our country," Ms Ganai said.

The Indian Army said on Saturday that it is conducting an inquiry into the deaths of three civilians in the Poonch-Rajouri sector, where militants launched an attack on army personnel on December 21, killing four soldiers.

Amid the recent increase in attacks on its troops, the Indian Army is planning to increase the number of troops in the Poonch-Rajouri sector to curb the activities of the Pakistani terrorists there, sources said on Monday.

"An additional brigade-size formation had been moved into the area a few months ago. It is planned that another brigade will come there along with a few other units to support counter-terrorist operations," sources in the Army informed ANI.

The move is expected to strengthen the counter-terrorist grid in the area and increase the confidence of the local population.

The local police have also strengthened their intelligence network and are expected to beef it up further.

The security forces have also managed to cut down on terrorist activities in the Kashmir valley.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)