Indian Border Security Force soldier Gurnam Singh, who was injured in a sniper attack by Pakistani troops, died at a hospital in Jammu on Saturday, police said.

The 26-year-old was wounded a day ago when Pakistani snipers targeted him, as he was instrumental in foiling an infiltration bid along the International Border in Kathua district, reports the Hindustan Times.

Gurnam was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu, around 80km from Kathua. His family had requested that he be shifted to a better hospital outside the state.

The BSF said on Friday it had gunned down seven Pakistani border guards in retaliation to ‘unprovoked firing’ by the neighbouring country in the Jammu sector where the government started shifting villagers to safer places in bulletproof vehicles.

The escalation of hostilities along the International Border came nearly three weeks after the Indian government announced that its solders had crossed the de-facto border and destroyed several terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.