Army indicts nine soldiers for Budgam killing

SRINAGAR: The Army has indicted nine soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer of 53 Rashtriya Rifles, for killing two youths in Chattergam in Budgam district on November 3, after a court of inquiry found “gross violation of rules of engagement” and “total failure of the command”.

A posse of soldiers manning the road had opened fire on a car, killing Faisal Yusuf Bhat and Mehrajuddin Dar in the incident that the Army later accepted as a mistake. Two others in the vehicle survived, one of them injured, to tell the whole story, prompting GOC Northern Command Lt Gen DS Hooda to promise a fair and swift probe.

While nine of the 15 soldiers who were deployed on the spot were indicted, the quantum of punishment is not yet known. They are expected to face life imprisonment and lose all service benefits. The probe mark the second set of indictments in recent days. On November 13, the army stated that it has sentenced five soldiers including two officers to life imprisonment for a fake encounter in border Macchil area involving killing of three civilian youths in 2010.