SRINAGAR: A day after three civilians killed in a remote Baffliaz village were laid to rest, the armed forces bid adieu to four soldiers who lost their lives in the militant ambush on Thursday in Poonch. The region continues to be without internet as top officers continue visiting the area. The search operation to nab the fugitives is still going on, reports reaching from the area said.
At a wreath-laying event, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, and General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based White Knight Corps Lt Gen Sandeep Jain paid tribute to Naik Birendder Singh, Naik Karan Kumar, Rifleman Gautam Kumar, and Rifleman Chandan Kumar. The soldiers’ mortal remains were later dispatched to their hometowns in Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
The region continues to be under tight guard to prevent the spillover of the Baffliaz tensions to the region. The internet continues to be shut down in the area. The search operation aimed at apprehending the militants involved in the ambush. Is still going on. The operation, spanning Surankote and the nearby Thanamandi forest area of Rajouri, involves the Army, police, and paramilitary forces. However, the outlaws remain elusive despite the extensive efforts. It was not immediately known if the vehicular movement from Rajouri and Poonch was restored.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has already initiated “legal action”, following allegations of custodial deaths and torture that led to the death of three civilians. Quickly, the government announced compensation to the families of the deceased civilians and announced jobs for them.
“The death of three civilians was reported yesterday in Baffliaz of Poonch District. The medico-legal formalities were conducted and legal action in this matter has been initiated by the appropriate authority,” the Department of Information and Public Relations, Jammu and Kashmir said in a post on X. “Government has announced compensation for each of the deceased. Further Government also announced compassionate appointments to the next of kin of each deceased.”
Reports reaching from Delhi suggested that the “Army has initiated a high-level internal probe into videos that appear to show the torture and deaths of three civilians allegedly in the custody of its troops in Poonch”, the Print website reported. “It is also learnt that the commanders on the ground in the Poonch-Rajouri area are likely to be changed, with fresh faces brought in to ensure a free and fair probe, while operations in the area, which has become the new hotbed of terrorists, will also be beefed up.”
Three civilians – Safeer Hussain (43), Mohammad Showket (27) and Shabir Ahmad (32), all residents of Topa Peer village of Bufliaz, whose bodies were recovered from the spot had allegedly been picked up by the Army and police, for investigations. They were part of eight to ten people detained from Topa Pir village, not far away from the spot of the ambush.
All the three civilians killed in this episode are cousins of each other. Interestingly all three have close relations with the security grid. Safeer’s brother, Noor Ahmad is a head constable in the Border Security Force. “This is the prize we have got for working for the nation” he was quoted by The Indian Express saying after he was approached for his comment. “He claimed his brother had been working for various agencies (involved in counter-insurgency operations).”
The Indian Express report said five other civilians — Fazal Hussain, 45, his nephews Mohammad Mehtab, 25, and Zulfikar, 14, (residents of Lower Pangai) besides Farooq Ahmed and Mohammad Arshad — were hospitalised at Government Medical College Hospital, Rajouri. They had been driven in an army vehicle but not taken to the hospital, the residents alleged.
On Sunday, ADGP Law and Order, Vijay Kumar visited Poonch and interacted with local committees and officials to assess the situation on the ground.
Meanwhile, the working president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) and former Minister Raman Bhalla alleged the BJP-controlled administration has plunged Jammu and Kashmir into an unprecedented crisis. “Poonch, Rajouri, and Baramulla were free from militancy but now militancy has slowly gripped these peaceful areas”, Bhalla regretted, while talking to a gathering in Jammu.
“Terrorists attacked Surankote and our soldiers lost their lives…Our police personnel detained some locals…Are we fighting terrorists or our people?” Dr Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday, asking the Home Minister to visit the spot. “If we are fighting with our people then we can never win this.”
Reports appearing in media suggest that the Army chief General Manoj Pande is likely to visit Jammu on Monday.
