NEW DELHI: Amidst allegations of the Army’s role in the death of the three civilians in Poonch district following an ambush last week that killed four soldiers, Army Chief General Manoj Pande reached the area to take stock of the situation.
After a full briefing and interaction with officers on the ground, General Pande urged the commanders to conduct all operations in the “most professional manner”. Two days after the ambush on December 21, the Army set up a Court of Inquiry into the mysterious deaths on December 23. It has since ‘attached’ a Brigadier, a Colonel (Commanding Officer of the unit) and a Lieutenant Colonel, sources said. ‘Attaching’ is a euphemism for putting them under watch of the local higher formation pending inquiry.
The J&K administration, too, filed a murder case against unknown Army personnel, announced compensation to the bereaved families and jobs to the next of kin, sources said. Four soldiers were killed and three injured on Thursday when two Army vehicles in J&K’s Poonch district were ambushed by terrorists. The attack took place at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz around 3.45 pm. The vehicles were fired upon from an advantageous point as they couldn’t speed away because they were negotiating a blind curve.
Eight civilians were then picked up for questioning by the security forces. Subsequently, the bodies of three of them were mysteriously found near the ambush site. All three were from Topa Peer village. Their families alleged that they were tortured and killed by the Army personnel. The five other civilians picked up by the Army are undergoing treatment for serious injuries at a hospital, sources said. The Army is yet to nab the assailants involved in the ambush. Search operations are continuing.
Heat on cops, Army The dead civilians were picked up by the troops accompanied by policemen Mohd Rafiq and Mohd Rashid along with their sources Jagi and Ganesh, said Mohd Sadiq, a relative of one of them
