Stone pelters cause accident, 2 CRPF jawans dead

Two CRPF jawans were mowed down by a para-military force vehicle when its driver lost control due to stone pelting at Hiller area in Kokernag of South Kashmir, police said late on Wednesday. The unfortunate incident took place when CRPF troops were withdrawing after a day-long law and order duty in the area.

According to the police, the driver of the CRPF armoured vehicle was pelted stones in the area, 85 km from here, during the withdrawal operation. The driver, identified as Roop Singh, lost control of the vehicle and hit a motorcycle on which CRPF jawans Riyaz Ahmed Wani and Nissar Ahmed Wani were riding. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared brought dead. The driver of the armoured vehicle has been hit in his head and has been rushed to an Army hospital in Srinagar.

Reinforcement was rushed to the spot to maintain law and order, officials said. Earlier in the day, a 50-yearold was killed after he was hit by mortar splinters during practice firing by the Army in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. Rattan Singh, a resident of Nonial, was hit by splinters during practice firing by Army at Gadhi in Nowshera area of the district. The body of the deceased was removed from the scene and was handed over to his family for last rites after legal formalities, the official said.