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Shelling in Poonch as polling begins

Two families in the border town of Poonch had a narrow escape when their houses were hit by mortar shells fired from Pakistan shortly after polling for the first phase of the assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir began on Monday, the police said.

Nine to ten shells were fired from across the Line of Control, the deputy inspector general in charge of poll security in the Rajouri-Poonch area, Ashok Gupta, said.

While the first bomb landed at a cremation ground at 0830 IST, the other shells fell at Poonch airport, Betar Nallah, Sher-e-Kashmir bridge, the bus stand, and the Purani Poonch localities.

Rajinder Singh and Om Prakash were leaving their houses with their families to cast their votes, when the roofs caved in due to the shelling, Gupta said.

One of the shells fired from the Langur post on the Pakistani side missed a helicopter that was about to land at Poonch airport.

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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