Three Kupwara residents missing, Army orders probe

The Army on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the disappearance of three persons allegedly abducted by a soldier in Kupwara district and said the force is committed to “absolutely zero tolerance” for human rights violations.

“Whenever any such incident takes place of which police or judiciary has taken cognisance, army automatically institutes an investigation,” said General Officer Commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Satish Dua.

“So, our own investigation is also on and if it is found that anyone has done something wrong, army will not play favorites. We are committed to absolutely zero tolerance for human rights violations,” he said. Lt Gen Dua was responding to a query whether the army, at its own level, has instituted any inquiry into the alleged abduction case for which a Territorial Army (TA) personnel, Manzoor Ahmad Khwaja, has been arrested by the police.

Ghulam Jeelani Khatana (42), Mir Hussain Khatana (45) and Ali Muhammad Sheikh (40), all residents of Kupwara district, have been reported missing since November 17 when they had left home reportedly to work as porters with the Army.

On the status of infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC), the army commander said there was a possibility of such attempts being made before more snowfall leads to closing of passes.