SRINAGAR: The Army on Thursday (November 21, 2024) faced allegations of harassment of locals and torture of five civilians in custody in the Chenab Valley’s Kishtwar district in the Jammu region, which saw a stepped-up militancy and frequent gun battles this year. The Army has ordered a probe into the incident, The Hindu reported.
“Villages in my panchayat are the worst sufferers since the militants killed two Village Defence Guards [on November 9]. There is hardly a day when 10 to 12 locals are not picked up, detained and interrogated,” Farooq Ahmed Kripak, sarpanch of Keshwan A, Thakrie, Kishtwar, told The Hindu over the phone.
The situation allegedly took an ugly turn on November 20 when four civilians were rounded up around 1 p.m. and released with injuries and torture marks on their bodies around 6 p.m. “All the victims are less or around 30 years old. Those who bore injury marks were Sajad Hussain, Mehraj Din, Ghulam Hassan, Mushtaq Ahmad and Abdul Kabir,” Mr. Kripak said.
Photo: Special Arrangement by The Wire
The sarpanch said the villagers are in a state of shock after the frequent detentions. He met senior officials of the J&K police and the Army officer to address the issue on Wednesday (November 20, 2024). “I was assured by the Army’s top official that no one will be rounded up now onwards. However, I just received a call [on Thursday] from locals that around 12 youths have been summoned to the Army installation tomorrow. One among those is over 65 years old,” Mr. Kripak said.
A video has also gone viral online where the injured civilians were being shifted with “torture marks”.
An Army spokesman said an investigation was being launched “to ascertain the facts”.
“There are some reports on the alleged ill-treatment of civilians during the conduct of an operation. An investigation is being launched to ascertain the facts. Necessary follow-up action will be ensured,” the Army said.
According to the Army, an operation was launched by the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles on 20 November 2024 based on specific intelligence of the movement of a group of terrorists in the Kishtwar Sector. “Further movement of the group of terrorists is being monitored,” the Army added.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti termed the reports about Army officials allegedly torturing civilians as “yet another distressing example of how certain laws give sweeping powers and impunity to armed forces in J&K”. “I hope the Army initiates a serious probe into this incident and ensures punishment to the perpetrators,” Ms. Mufti said.
Kishtwar district in the Jammu region saw a number of contacts between militants and security forces, especially on forest tracks this year. Two VGDs were killed by militants in the upper reaches of Kishtwar on November 9 after kidnapping them. A total of five people, including two civilians and three soldiers, were killed by militants in multiple attacks on security forces this year. Eighteen security forces personnel and 13 terrorists have been killed in the Jammu region this year so far.
Earlier, the Army was accused of “torture in custody” by locals in Thanamandi in the Pir Panjal valley, days after four soldiers died in a militant ambush in December 2023.
