SRINAGAR, Sept 12: The Jammu and Kashmir police said they will move the court if the Army failed to hand over its personnel, including a Lt Colonel and a Captain, in a case of attempt to murder.
“Charges against Army are grave. Law of land is equal for everyone. If the Army fails to hand over those responsible for the attack on the police station and the police personnel, then we will move the court,” Senior Superintendent of Police, General Railway Police (GRP), Shiv Kumar said.
Police on Tuesday said about 35 Army personnel of 225 Field Regiment led by Colonel M.A Khan, captain Tyagi attacked railway police station at Janglote in Kathua district of Jammu injuring six policemen, officials said.
The Army has, however, termed as “baseless” the charges that its soldiers ransacked the police station.
“The charges levelled against Army are totally baseless with a malafide intent,” PTI quoted the Army as saying from Chandigarh.
“GRP and local police manipulated the whole matter by using their influence over the media,” it said.
Police said the soldiers had attacked policemen following an argument between an Army man and policeman at the railway station.
A soldier Deepak Kumar was heading home on leave when he entered into an altercation with some policeman at Kathua railway station at around 11 pm Monday, the police said.The solider had allegedly unplugged a metal detector and had put his own phone for charging which led to a heated exchange between the GRP constable and the soldier.
They said the GRP men guarding the railway station intervened and brought the soldier to the GRP police station.
“We tried to pacify him and told him that he should not have attacked the GRP constable. We didn’t thrash him in the police station,” said a police official.
At the same time someone informed Army officials of the solider being thrashed and detained in the police station and they rushed to the spot with official weapons.
Led allegedly by Lieutenant Colonel Khan the Army men reached the Kathua railway station and assaulted the GRP men, forcing some of them to flee from the spot.
The soldiers also ransacked the furniture and other items in the police station.
The soldiers, according to the police, took away head constable Ghulam Nabi as hostage. He was released later.
“At the time of his release he was bleeding from nose,” a police official said. The SSP, GRP, Shiv Kumar said that an FIR has been lodged against Lieutenant Colonel of 225 field regiment under sections 307 for attempt to murder, 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 452 (trespass with intention to commit offence) and 364 (illegally kidnapping and abducting any person to confine him) of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
He said separate FIR has been registered against Army soldier Deepak Kumar under section 353, attacking government servant and 332 (causing hurt).
Police have apprehensions that the Army might invoke Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act in this case. In the past 20 years, Union Home Ministry and the Defence Ministry haven’t given sanction for prosecution in any case involving armed forces.
From 1989 to 2011 the state home department applied for sanction in 50 cases but all the requests were turned down.
(India Today, PTI)
