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India-Pakistan

Poonch Terror Attack Army probe picks up lapses in killing of 3 civilians last December

2024-04-11

[GreaterKashmir
Kashmir

...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
] Apr 5: The Army’s internal inquiries into the killing of three civilians, allegedly during interrogation by Army personnel following a terror attack in J&K’s Poonch in December 2023 that left four soldiers dead, have found serious lapses and operational gaps in the conduct of seven to eight personnel, including officers, at various levels, The Indian Express reported.

Sources have told The Indian Express that the findings of the inquiries indicate that the three civilians died of torture, allegedly during interrogation.

The terror attack took place on December 21 on the Mughal Road between Dehra Ki Gali and Bufliaz. The next morning, eight civilians were picked up from Topa Pir in Poonch district’s Bufliaz area, and five from Rajouri district’s Thanamandi area.

Of the eight taken away from Topa Pir, three died of injuries sustained during the alleged torture.

The inquiries are learnt to have found lapses in the overall conduct of the operation as well as the individual conduct of certain personnel.

Administrative and disciplinary action have been recommended against two officers and other ranks who were either directly or indirectly responsible for the interrogation.

The sources said that the initial findings have indicated administrative lapses and a lack of command and control on the part of the Brigade Commander of 13 Sector RR and the Commanding Officer (CO) of 48 Rashtriya Rifles (RR).

While the Brigade Commander was not physically present at the site, the CO was on leave — they have since been moved out. Although they were not directly involved in any misdemeanour, administrative action has been recommended against them. Not necessarily at the spot most times, they are responsible for ensuring the implementation of SoPs and other drills.

Suitable disciplinary action, sources said, has also been recommended against two officers, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and other ranks who were present during the interrogation of the civilians who had been rounded up. One of the officers was learnt to have been responsible for the CO’s role in his absence.

Sources said while the two officers may not have been directly involved in the physical torture which allegedly led to the deaths, they were responsible for ensuring that interrogation was done in line with rules. Hence, the recommendation for disciplinary action against them.

In the military, disciplinary action could mean a court martial. Punishment could include the death penalty

, depending on the seriousness of the offence. Administrative action would mean departmental action minus a trial. Punishment could include loss of seniority, a fine, censure or even termination of service.

According to the sources, the inquiries have been finalised after being vetted for legal procedures and other details, including invoking Army Rule 180 wherein the accused gets the option to cross-question witnesses to clarify statements.

Based on the directions of the inquiry reports, the entire evidence is being collected in the form of a summary of evidence. Based on that, further action such as a General Court Martial would be ordered.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Alamo, Davy was counting their remaining cannon balls and not liking the results...
48 RR, the unit involved in the incident, has been made to regroup and retrain under a new Commanding Officer. It has been redeployed in another sector under the Nagrota-based XVI Corps.

The Indian Express reported that in response to their queries, the Army said that investigations into the incident are still in progress and it may be premature to arrive at outcomes at this stage.

"The Indian Army is committed to conducting a thorough and impartial inquiry to ascertain the facts surrounding this incident. All efforts are in place to ensure that the investigations are fair, comprehensive and conclusive. Further actions will be determined based on the outcome of the investigations," it said.

The Army said it is committed to upholding the highest standards of discipline, conduct and ethics, by the law besides maintaining zero-tolerance towards any human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
violations.

"Our protocols and procedures are designed to ensure that all personnel adhere to these principles, even under the most challenging operational conditions," it said.

Following the incident, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with Army Chief General Manoj Pande visited Rajouri and met the families of the three civilians who died. The families said Singh had assured them justice.

Link

India-Pakistan

Army kills 3 fidayeen, foils Uri Brigade type attack

2017-09-25

[Daily Excelsior] Army today killed three fidayeen in Kalgi area near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Baramulla district and prevented last year’s Uri Brigade headquarter type attack in which 19 Army personnel were killed.

General Officer Comma-nding (GOC) 19 Division of Army Major General RP Kalita told Excelsior that they had inputs for long that hard boyz are trying to carry out fidayeen attack in Uri this month.

"We were already alert. Last night, we got information about presence of three holy warriors in Kalgi area of Uri and we launched an operation that resulted in the encounter. There were 19 houses in the area and we tried to avert any collateral damage and in the evening we neutralized all the three terrorists", said Major General Kalita.

"They seem to be newly infiltrated and must have come two nights before they were trapped in the village. We have recovered three bodies and weapons and operation is over. However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
we will continue searches of the area to look for other items they must have been carrying", the GOC said.

However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
sources said that Army had inputs that hard boyz were planning a major attack on Army installations in Uri area for long and they had planned it for the month of September.

And last night, Army’s 4 Para, 8 Rashtriya Rifles, 21 Sikh, 53 CRPF and Jammu and Kashmire Police launched a massive operation in Kalgi area in Uri after receiving a specific input about the movement of these Lion of Islams.

Early in the morning, security forces rescued a family where one of the hard boyz was hiding and later the Lion of Islam was killed in the shootout. Another Lion of Islam was hiding in the Masjid and he was later killed and third one was killed this evening. Three AK series rifles, 10 AK magazines, 10 grenades, one UBGL and other war like stores were recovered from their possession.

A police front man said that during night, it was found that one of the hard boyz had forcibly entered into a civilian home and had taken the family members as hostage. "In the early morning, the civilians were rescued and the terrorist was eliminated. Hunt for two other holy warriors was launched and one terrorist was found to have taken refuge in a local mosque. Therefore keeping in view the sanctity of the mosque, a J&K Police team entered into the mosque and without causing any harm to mosque, eliminated this terrorist as well. The third terrorist was also killed later", police said.

Link

India-Pakistan

Militant killed in Lolab gun battle

2016-04-30

[Daily Excelsior] A perforated carcass of a turban who was killed during an operation launched last evening at Kanthpora in Lolab area of North Kashmire’s Kupwara district was recovered this morning.

A police officer said that Army’s 28 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmire Police cordoned off Pir Mohalla area of Kanthpora in Lolab last evening and conducted searches for a turban who was hiding in the village.

"The turban who was holed up in a mosque since last night believed to have escaped during an encounter at Gujjarpati village in Putshahi area on April 21 was killed in the shootout", Police said.

Three of associates of the turban were killed in the encounter on April 21 at Gujjarpati village in Putshahi area of Lolab. The turban was injured in the shootout but beat feet from the cordon. Security forces had launched massive operations against him. He had taken shelter in the local mosque in injured condition and was being tracked by security forces.

The police officer said that last evening, when the security forces conducted searches, the turban tried to break the cordon. "In the initial exchange of fire, the turban managed to give slip to the security forces in the injured condition. The search operation which was immediately launched was hampered by the locals of the area by resorting to stone-pelting on security forces," he said.

However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
he said, this morning the joint team of security forces used sniffer dogs and launched the massive searches after locating blood stains of the injured turban. Later, the security forces recovered turban’s body which was lying near the local graveyard of the area.

The killing of this turban has taken the number of snuffies killed this year so far to 35. Majority of these killed snuffies belonged to LeT.

Meanwhile,
...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system...
the protests broke out in the area for the second day today after news of killing of turban spread in the area. The turban was later laid to rest. Sources said festivities and protests raged in several areas of the Lolab including Kathpora, Cherkote and Lalpora.

Link

India-Pakistan

Top Lashkar, Jaish militants gunned down in J&K

2009-03-27

Two top militants, including a self-styled district commander of Lashker-e-Taiba (LET) outfit hailing from Pakistan, were killed in
separate gunbattles in Jammu and Kashmir.

LeT commander Abdullah Uni, a resident of Pakistan, was killed in an encounter with troops of 28 Rashtriya Rifles, Nine Para and special operations group of local police at Dorusa-Lolab in Kupwara district on Wednesday night, a defence spokesperson said on Thursday. One of the security personnel received splinter injuries in the operation which started on Tuesday when the joint search party cordoned off the area to flush out the hiding militants.

In another fierce encounter, a self-styled divisional commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) outfit Waseem Bilal was killed in the forest area of Dardpora-Arin in Bandipora district. The encounter broke out on Wednesday afternoon and continued till this morning, officials said adding an AK assault rifle, an under barrel grenade launcher with three shells, 90 AK rounds and five SIM cards were recovered from the possession of the slain militant.

Link

India-Pakistan

Militant, wife killed in encounter

2008-05-29

(IANS) A militant and his wife were killed in a gunbattle with security forces in the mountain-locked Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday, the first incident of its kind in nearly two decades of militancy-related violence in the state. The police said: In a joint operation, the troops of 8 Rashtriya Rifles and J&K Police killed Shabir Ahmed Attoo alias Abu Yashir, a divisional commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba and his wife Shamrina Bano at Gundna, Khandepura, Wednesday.

The wife was also an active militant, the police alleged. The operation was launched based on specific information regarding presence of the said militant and his wife, a listed militant, inside a house, the police said. One AK 47 rifle and a pistol were among the items seized from the slain militants.

Link

Afghanistan/South Asia

Kashmir Korpse Kount

2005-03-08

Indian army troops Monday gunned down six separatist guerillas during a cordon and search operation at Doraswani village, 110 km from here, in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. Troops of 18 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), on specific information, surrounded Doraswani village early Monday and mounted house-to-house searches, a senior police official said."During the searches, militants hiding in the village hurled hand grenades and fired from their automatics on the search parties. Troops took positions and returned the fire," the official told IANS. "In the gun battle that continued for several hours troops gunned down six militants and recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition."

Link

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