Pak mutilates bodies of two jawans, India vows revenge
WAR CRY Political and military leadership in Delhi wants the country to take immediate action
Pakistani forces killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies along the Line of Control on Monday morning, the army’s Northern Command said while promising to “appropriately respond” to the “despicable act”.
Union defence minister Arun Jaitley said the country’s armed forces will respond appropriately, at the right time. Army chief Bipin Rawat flew into Sringar to take stock of the situation.
The Pakistani side opened fire on the Indian posts in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district, and members of their Border Action Team (BAT) attacked a patrol party, the Indian Army’s Northern Command said in a statement.
“Pak army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati Sector... Simultaneously, a BAT (border action team — an amalgam of terrorists and Pakistan army regulars) action was launched on a patrol operating between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pak army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated,” the statement said.
Earlier, army sources identified Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, a junior commissioned officer (JCO), and Border Security Force head constable Prem Sagar as the dead. Two other BSF soldiers on patrol with them survived.
The firing began at 8.25 am, they said, identifying Pakistan’s 647 Mujahid Battalion deployed on the forward defence line as the source. Four rounds of rocket-propelled grenades and three to four bursts of automatic weapons were fired on Kripan-1, manned by the BSF’s 200 Battalion.
Indian troopers at Kripan-1 retaliated with automatic weapons at 8.40 am, officials said. The firing lasted till 9 am.
BSF head constable Prem Sagar belongs to Deoria district in UP. One of the injured was identified as BSF constable Rajender Kumar, while the identity of the fourth trooper, who received minor injuries, is yet to be revealed.
India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC but it is violated frequently. Pakistani troops routinely target Indian posts — Indians officials say — to give cover to militants trying to cross over.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday strongly condemned the barbaric attack in which two security personnel were killed and their bodies mutilated by a Pakistani special forces team, demanding a ‘free hand’ to the Army to tackle dangerous situations in the line of duty.
The sharp reaction from the Punjab Chief Minister came after two Indian security personnel were on Monday beheaded by a Pakistani special forces team that sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector under the cover of heavy mortar fire.
Expressing his concern over the increasing vulnerability of soldiers on the borders, Amarinder Singh, himself an ex-armyman, came out in solidarity with the Indian soldiers.
He said that our soldiers are being exposed to all kinds of risks and atrocities, not only at the hands of enemy forces from across the border but sometimes also at the hands of civilians, as happened recently in Kashmir.
Reacting strongly on the incident in which bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated, he urged the central government to send out a strong signal to the inimical forces against indulging in such atrocities and barbaric acts.
He backed the Indian Army’s warning of “appropriate response” for the “despicable act.”
Such unprovoked acts of excessive violence cannot be tolerated or allowed to go unpunished, he said, adding that the Indian soldiers were “not a dispensable commodity to be sacrificed at the altar of such uncivilised and savage assaults”.
In a similar vein, he also came down heavily on those criticising the Indian Army's action of tying a man to a jeep to protect its soldiers from the vicious attack unleashed by civilians during the recent elections in Kashmir.
The civilians tried to take the law in their hands, he said, adding that it was the duty of the army officers to protect their jawans.
Coming out in defence of an army officer, in the line of fire from various quarters, including a section of the media, over his 'human shield’ action, Amarinder said the officer was simply doing his duty.
The chief minister said, “had I been in the same situation I would have carried out the same action.”
In a message to his former comrades in army, he said, “Regardless of your rank on retiring don't forget your past and that you belong to one of the finest armies in this world.”