Sub Divisional Magistrate Rajinder Singh Rana and his minor son were killed on Friday night after the vehicle they were travelling in got caught in a landslide in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
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His wife, Dr Nisha Pawar (38), and their 10-year-old daughter were among five relatives injured in the incident.
The accident took place in the Salukh Ikhter Nallah area near Dharmari, police said, adding that a massive boulder that came down with the landslide hit the vehicle that the SDM and family were travelling in.
Rana, a 2011-batch officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS), was posted as SDM Ramnagar in Udhampur district.
The family was travelling from Dharmari to their native village of Pattiya at the time of the mishap.
Earlier in the week, two Army men were killed after a boulder fell on an Army vehicle in eastern Ladakh.
Incessant rain during the monsoons has triggered landslides in the hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir, and also in the mountainous Ladakh region.
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Last month, 10 Shri Mata Vaishnodevi pilgrims were injured — three of them seriously — after a landslide hit an iron shed on the yatra track in the Banganga area near Katra town.
On Saturday, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha offered his condolences to the family of the deceased SDM.
“Extremely saddened by the landslide incident in Dharmari, Reasi, in which we have lost an outstanding officer, Rajinder Singh, SDM Ramnagar, and his son,” he said in a post on X.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed her shock at the death of the SDM and his son, and conveyed her solidarity to the survivors.
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Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo also expressed grief at the incident. In his condolence message, the Chief Secretary described Rajinder Singh as a sincere and dedicated officer whose unwavering commitment to public service and integrity in duty earned him the respect of his colleagues and the community alike.
He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and said that the whole administration stands in solidarity with them.
Dulloo assured that all possible medical assistance and support would be provided to the injured family members and that every effort would be made to ensure their recovery and well-being.
