Srinagar:
Forty Army personnel, including a commanding officer and a Major, face a police case for allegedly assaulting policemen and also vandalising a police station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district.
In the FIR, police have named Colonel N Arun Gandhi, commanding officer 17 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Vikas Sharma, Naib Subedar Shankar Gurkhe and 30-40 other unidentified Army personnel for storming police station Atholi in Kishtwar, assaulting government officers and police personnel inside the station premises.
The suspects face charges of attempted murder and destroying public property.
The Army has said that they will cooperate with the investigation.
“The matter pertains to an FIR registered by the local police in Atholi, Kishtwar. The matter is under examination through the appropriate institutional mechanisms. Indian Army will extend full cooperation in the legal process. Appropriate actions will be taken based on the outcome of the joint investigation. At this stage it would be premature to comment further while the investigations are in progress,” a defense spokesman told NDTV.
Among those allegedly assaulted by troops are Vijay Kumar Bhagat, Deputy Superintendent of Police, and Amrit Katoch, Station House Officer (SHO), of police station Atholi.
The FIR filed by SHO states that the troops stormed the police station when he was attending a government function at the Block Development Office in Paddar that was chaired by the District Commissioner Kishtwar.
Upon receiving the information that a violent incident had unfolded inside the police station, the SHO said he returned to the police station.
“As soon as the undersigned entered the premises of the Police Station, the Army personnel, led aggressively by Major Vikas Sharma, physically assaulted undersigned. During this scuffle, they tore the uniform shirt of the undersigned and launched a physical attack on SDPO Atholi, Shri Vijay Kumar Bhagat, also,” reads the FIR.
In the FIR, police have alleged that the attack was pre-planned and several policemen have been injured.
As per the FIR, Army personnel were armed with lathis, iron rods and service weapons when they forced their entry into the police station after scaling the main gate and boundary walls.
According to reports, troops stormed the police station after Assistant Regional Transport officer (ARTO) Kishtwar seized a vehicle of Army.
The FIR states that during the attack on police station ARTO Kishtwar and his Personal Security Officers (PSOs) who were present in the police station premises were also assaulted by the Army.
“The attackers also caused extensive damage to government and public property, vandalising the official vehicle of the ARTO, the vehicle of the SHO police station Atholi, SDPO Atholi and breaking down the main gate of the Police Station,” reads the FIR.
The police alleges that the assault was pre-planned and Army personnel wanted to “kill” the police personnel on duty.
“Having made full preparations and armed with lathis, iron rods, and arms and ammunitions the said group trespassed into the premises of Police Station Atholi by forcefully climbing over the main gate and the boundary walls. Their common intention was to cause fatal injuries and kill the police personnel on duty. Upon receiving a call from the Police Station regarding the forceful entry and assault, undersigned immediately rushed back,” reads the FIR.
