Rajnath May Meet Poonch Torture Victims’ Families, Army Officers Visit Village And Promise Justice

BY ADIL AKHZER

Ahead of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Rajouri in Jammu &Kashmir on Wednesday, the Indian Army has reached out to families of the three civilians who died while in army custody last week, promising that those guilty for the murders will be punished and justice will be done.

Singh is likely to meet the families of the victims during his visit to the area.

Senior Army officers including a Brigadier rank officer on Tuesday visited the village, Topa Bufliaz, in tehsil Surankote, for the first time after last week’s incident, family members told Awaaz South Asia.

“Senior officers visited us today. They said they cannot compensate for our loss because they cannot bring our loved ones back, but promised that strict action  would be taken against those responsible,” said Noor Ahmad, brother of Safeer Ahmad, one of the three dead men.

He said the Army officers informed the families that an enquiry has already been initiated and they had removed some officers from their posts  “They said ‘we are with you’,” said Ahmad.

Three civilians died last week after they – along with six other men – were picked up for questioning within hours of a deadly ambush Thursday on Army vehicles in the Bufliaz area of Surankote in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Four soldiers were killed in the ambush. The bodies of two were decapitated.

The families said they had been invited to meet the Defence Minister in Rajouri on Wednesday.

“We want to tell him that justice has to be done,” said another family member.

The Indian Army has offered a monetary compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each of the families, according to the villagers, while the civil administration which engaged with the village all these days since the murders,  has  offiered Rs 20 lakh each to the families.

Top Police sources told Awaaz on Wednesday that recording of statements of family members and villagers under section 164 of CRPC will begin in the case soon.The police have filed a murder case in the matter against unknown men in the Surankote Police station.

“We have registered an FIR based on information made available to us.  We will record the statements and take up investigation further,” said a police officer.

The  FIR contains no names of the accused and no details of what exactly happened to the three victims. All that the FIR mentions is that the three men were picked up for questioning, and “they succumbed to their injuries”. It did not mention where the bodies were found or where the crime was committed.

“We have registered an FIR based on information made available to us. We will record the statements and take up investigation further,” said a police officer.

In an unprecedented decision by the Army top brass, three officers including a Brigadier were shifted from the area in the wake of the deaths in army custody and the torture of the detained villagers – the videos of which went viral on social media – signalling that it was taking the matter seriously.

Awaaz South Asia  was the first to report that the three officers had been removed from their posts pending an internal investigation in the matter.

Two decades ago, the Gujar community provided vital assistance to turn the tide of militancy in the area. The LoC bodering Poonch and Rajouri districts had been largely peaceful until 2021, when there was an uptick in  attacks on security forces in the area. Officials say the tight security control in Kashmir saw cross-border militants shift their attention south of the Pir Panjal range, to the Poonch-Rajouri districts.

The spate of incidents since 2021 has raised fears that attempts are on again by Pakistan-based terrorist groups to re-establish themselves in these areas.

In the five attacks this year alone, 20 soldiers have been killed, including two officers of Captain rank. Members of the highly trained elite Special Forces were among those killed in two of the incidents. After a gap of over 17 years, the area has once again become a terror hotspot – in October 2021, five soldiers were killed in an encounter in Chamrer forests in Poonch district’s Surankote area, and four more were killed as they tried to track down the perpetrators.