Will ensure civilian killings don’t happen again: Army

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 30

Stating that an inquiry into the Handwara incident is under way, the Army today said it would ensure that incidents like that at Nathnusa in Kupwara, where a protester was killed in firing, did not recur in the future.

The General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Satish Dua, said the Army had been working in “perfect synergy with the police and CRPF” to avoid such incidents in the future.

“The Army does not deal with protests. It is the police or, at best, the CRPF that deals with protests. While we let them deal with protests, in this unfortunate incident, the protesters had started breaking the gate and fence of the Army camp. We are confident that henceforth, this will not happen because we are working in perfect synergy with the police and CRPF,” he said during the reopening of the Srinagar-Leh highway.

On April 12, after allegations of molestation of a minor girl in Handwara by a soldier, violent protests broke out, in which three persons, including a woman, were killed in firing by security forces.

A day later, two more persons, including one at Nathnusa, were killed in firing by security forces. The girl had denied that she was molested.

The civilian killings had triggered a series of protests and stone throwing at several places in Kupwara. Lt Gen Dua said an inquiry was under way into the Handwara incident.

On infiltration, he said the Army was ready in every manner to handle the situation. The Centre said in the Lok Sabha on Friday that in the first three months, 24 infiltration attempts by militants took place in J&K and 18 of these were successful.