Dwellers in the villages along the International Border (IB) here were left shell-shocked after Pakistani troops punctured residential houses with mortar bombs and bullets in a fresh overnight ceasefire violation in Jammu region.
"The firing by Pak Rangers first begun with small arms around 6 PM yesterday and later pounded our villages with mortar bombs throughout the night resulting in fear psychosis", Baldev Ram, a villager of Arnia belt, said pointing to the scores of holes created in the houses there by blast of 82-mm mortar shells and bullets.
Showing the damage caused to his house during the firing, Ram said, "the impact of the shelling was such that the family did not sleep for a minute as they feared for their lives."
Apart from six Border Out Posts (BoPs), Pakistan Rangers resorted to firing of 82-mm mortar bombs, small and automatic weapons on civilian areas along International Border (IB) throughout the night.
Like him, Shamsher Singh also narrated the tale of fear and terror that the night-long shelling brought to the people there.
"The firing and shelling has come back to haunt us after a peaceful living four-five months. We feared that we have to migrate again from our border homes... That was the intensity of the shelling by Pakistan Rangers," he said.
If the situation continued we will be forced to leave our homes and hearths, they said.
In a nearby area in Arnia, a cow died of shell blast and scores of houses depicted impact of the mortar shelling.
In continued ceasefire violations, Pakistani troops resorted to night-long firing and mortar shelling targeting six Border Out Posts (BoPS) along Indo-Pak border in Jammu district, forcing BSF to retaliate effectively.
One of the villagers said people were scared and reminded of last year's ceasefire violation, which had left several people injured.
Over 170 ceasefire violations have been reported along the IB in Jammu and Kashmir this year in which two civilians and one security personnel have been killed and 19 injured.
