A 13-year-old boy was killed and two others were wounded on Sunday when a stray artillery shell from the time of Kargil War exploded in the remote village of Kurbathang in Kargil district of Ladakh.
Following the unfortunate incident, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Brig. (Retd.) BD Mishra give instructions to the Indian Army to clean the area of any explosive material. The demining exercise is to start from Monday itself.
India and Pakistan fought a brief war in the Kargil region in 1999. A large number of artillery shells were used in the war and locals say such shells are found in the region occasionally.
The Sunday’s incident took place after boys, who were playing near the Astro football ground in the area, started fiddling with a shell believed to be from the 1999 Kargil War.
Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil Feroz Khan told Outlook that one of the boys, identified as Mohammad Baqir, 13, succumbed on the way to the hospital. Khan said two other wounded boys, Ali Naqi and Muntazir Mehdi, are being treated in the hospital.
Khan said, “This is not the first such incident. On the same spot last year two Nepali workers were killed after a shell explode. In this area, unexploded shells are found in large numbers. Some are visible and some are hidden. These shells and mines can be either from the Kargil war period or they could be of the Army firing range. There was a firing range of the Army in the area till 2013.”
Khan, however, said the boys could be wounded by a leftover explosive from the Kargil War.
LG Mishra visited the site on Sunday evening and held a meeting with the Army and the police authorities.
“The Army, the police, and civil administration have been given the task that the visible shells should be defused immediately,” the CEC said.
The CEC further said the LG has also given instructions for having a long-term strategy to diffuse hidden explosives from the area.
“The Army engineers will also be involved in the exercise. The first task is to remove and diffuse explosives that are in and around the village,” Khan said.
The LG has announced Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia for the dead and one lakh for the wounded.
Councillor of the concerned area Pashkum, Kacho Mohd Feroz, told reporters in Kargil that under the chairmanship of the LG, the decision was taken to demine the area from April 17. He said the Army would be making a time frame about the demining of the area.
“There are several areas in the district Kargil including Drass where mines are found. These areas should be also diffused,” he said.
