Amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, a number of families fled their homes in shelling-hit Kupwara villages after three people, including a seven-year-old, were killed on Sunday in Pakistani shelling.

There was no report of any shelling or firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara on Monday. However, the intense shelling on Sunday has triggered fear among the villagers living in Reddi Chowkibal and adjoining areas.

Out of the three causalities, two took place at Reddi Chowkibal, a village with a population of over 4,500.

A 35-year-old mother of four, Shameema, and 17-year-old youth Javaid Ahmed Khan were killed at Reddi Chowkibal in the shelling. The woman was killed when a shell exploded in a backyard and the youth was killed in the market. The two were buried on Sunday evening.

“After the shelling, we walked barefoot from the area in the evening. We were stopped by police saying there was a restriction in place. No neighbour gave us shelter. They are not to be blamed for this as there is the fear of spread of cornovirus. We finally managed accommodation at a relative’s place,” said Akthar, a resident of Reddi village.

The sarpanch of Reddi Chowkibal, Haider Khan, appealed to the governments of India and Pakistan to please stop this shelling and ensure no one is homeless during this pandemic.

“The shelling created fear and panic in the area and many families shifted to a safer place. Some of them have returned now. The government should construct underground bunkers for our safety,” Khan told The Tribune.

The villagers here fear more shelling may take place.

The third causality in the cross-border shelling was that of child that took place at Tumina village. The child’s father was also wounded in the shelling and he is being treated in a hospital.

Tumina village sarpanch Ghulam Qadir Mir said he was busy enforcing the lockdown when an artillery shell landed some 100 feet away.

“I saw a shell land at a house and its splinters hit Bashir Ahmad Kataria and his son Ziyan. The splinters blew the head of the child,” Mir said. “People have been confining themselves to their homes fearing virus but now they are not safe within their homes due to the shelling.”

Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, Ambarakar Shriram Dinkar, said the situation remained calm on Monday.

The LoC in Keran sector has been hotspot for the past one week. On April 5, the Keran sector witnessed a fierce gunfight between the infiltrators and special forces at Rangdori forest along the LoC. Five members of elite 4 Para and the same number of militants were killed in the gunfight.

Days later, the Indian army targeted militant launch pads and gun positions in Keran sector following a ceasefire violation by Pakistan.