Two local men, identified as Kamal Kumar and Surinder Kumar, both belonging to ward 15 in Rajouri town, were killed and another man, Arun Kumar from Uttarakhand, was injured in firing outside an Army camp, 5 kms ahead of Rajouri town which falls in district Rajouri, Jammu division of J&K.
In a tweet on its official handle, the Army said there was a firing incident by unidentified terrorists near military hospital, which led to fatal casualty of two individuals.
However, hundreds of local residents reportedly protested the deaths and demanded an impartial probe into the incident, as there are claims that a sentry opened fire in a case of mistaken identity. Protesting locals blocked the Rajouri-Jammu highway and refused to relent unless the guilty were brought to justice.
The three men worked as porters, and were approaching the Alpha gate of the army camp at about 6:15 AM when shots were fired by a sentry, a local alleged, as per a Hindustan Times report. Kamal Kumar and Surinder Kumar died on the spot, while Arun Kumar was taken to hospital and his condition is described as stable.
Rajouri senior superintendent of police (SSP) Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam said the police are investigating and declined to comment on allegations of the local residents.
Additional deployments of forces have been made to maintain law and order in the town.
