As Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire and resorted to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling along the border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, several purported images claiming to showcase the damage incurred due to the infiltration surfaced on social media.
According to the news agency ANI, a number of houses in the border village of Chak Changa in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district were damaged, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Border Security Force (BSF).
Subsequently, pictures of vandalised households were shared on Twitter and Facebook in connection with the ceasefire violation in Kathua.
"Heavy shelling by Pakistan in Kathua district damages households. Angry locals protested and chanted slogans against Pakistan," reported an online portal and shared a couple of images.
Here is a screenshot of the report:
The post, however, was later taken down from all the social media platforms. But, by then, social media users had already fallen for the photographs and had even circulated them further.
Fact-Checking the images
A reverse image search on Google reveals that the pictures being passed off as houses burnt down in Kathua are actually from Kulgam district. Furthermore, they date back to 2018 when Indian soldiers engaged in a confrontation with militants in Khudwani town.
The cross-border firing between the two sides had resulted in the destruction of houses and shops in the area.
Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the images doing the rounds on the Internet have no connection with the recent ceasefire violation in Kathua, which ensued a gunfight between Pakistani Rangers and the BSF personnel. The battle started late Friday and continued throughout the night, ending at 4.40 am on Saturday.
The firing caused panic among those residing in border areas as they were forced to spend the night in underground bunkers for safety reasons. Later, expressing their anger towards Pakistan for its frequent ceasefire violation, the locals staged a protest and raised "Pakistan Murdabad" slogans.
As per the officials, Pakistan has been targeting forward posts and villages in Hiranagar sector of Jammu and Kashmir to stall the construction work being undertaken by BSF to strengthen the counter-infiltration grid.
