Soldiers belonging to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) opened fire on a car that did not stop at a check post despite being ordered to do so. There were five people in the car and two of them died.
The boys in the car said they got frightened when they were asked to stop and so they sped away. The soldiers thought they were militants. However, when they fired, the car skidded off the road and came to a halt but the soldiers went on firing.
The deaths caused a huge upheaval in the valley that is going through an election. It was the fifth boy who escaped and later told the whole story.
Based on his testimony, as well as questioning of the soldiers on duty, the army decided to court-martial the errant soldiers. The army had also announced compensatory sum of Rs1,000,000 each for the two slain boys and Rs500,000 for the two others injured.
The Indian Army says it scrupulously adheres to its human rights code and acts immediately when it is violated. This incident occurred on November 3 and in less than a month, justice had been dispensed.
Lieutenant General D S Hooda, GOC-in-C of the army's northern command, later admitted the deployed column of the RR had overstepped its brief and violated the rules of engagement while opening fire on the car. It was a mistake. “Otherwise, why would innocent boys have been killed?” asked Hooda.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2014.
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