Rajnath assures justice to families of 3 slain civilians

Assuring justice to families of three civilians allegedly killed in Army custody in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged troops to win the hearts of people and not make “mistakes” that may hurt citizens.

“Please have faith in us. Nobody can bring back to life of those who have died. But there will be justice,” Singh told five members of three families of the deceased and further said that they are all pained at the loss of lives in Poonch.

“We all — I, LG Sahib and Prime Minister Ji — are pained,” he told the kin in presence of Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar and IGP Anand Jain.

“Whatever has happened...there will be justice,” the defence minister told reporters at the GMC hospital where he had reached after meeting the families of the deceased civilians at Dak Bungalow.

The minister’s statement comes amid the outrage that sparked in the wake of three civilians being found dead in Poonch district on December 22 allegedly after they were picked up by the security forces for questioning in connection with an ambush on two Army vehicles that had left four soldiers dead a day earlier.

Accompanied by Army chief General Manoj Pande and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Singh flew to Rajouri district soon after his arrival in Jammu to review the security situation, especially in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch where terror attacks and infiltration attempts from across the Line of Control (LoC) have witnessed a spike this year.

Addressing the troops at a military garrison in Rajouri, the defence minister lauded the troops for their bravery.

Four soldiers died and three others were injured when their vehicles were ambushed by terrorists at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Buffliaz in the Surankote area of Poonch on December 21.

Three civilians — Safeer Hussain (43), Mohd Showket (27) and Shabir Ahmad (32)— were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning following the attack. They were found dead the next day. Soon, video clips purportedly of torture of the detained civilians went viral on social media.

He stressed on the need to adopt more serious approach by meeting the people, listening to their problems and raising those issues at appropriate level for redressal. Singh paid his tributes to the fallen soldiers and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured personnel.

Several District Development Council (DDC) members, former legislators and civil society members were also present at the meeting between the defence minister, Lt Governor and the families of the deceased civilians.

“The defence minister met the families of the civilians, civil society and assured action against the guilty after an inquiry into the incident,” former MLC Shahnaz Ganai, who was present in the meeting at Dak Bungalow, said.