court of inquiry

Court of Inquiry Ordered Against Army Major Who Fired on Colleagues in Rajouri Camp

While the Army has confirmed that one person was injured, reports suggest that at least five people – including three officers – were injured in the attack.

New Delhi: A Court of Inquiry was ordered on Friday (October 6) against the Army Major who allegedly opened fire on and lobbed grenades at his colleagues inside a camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri.

The incident occurred at the Army’s 48 Rashtriya Rifles base in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri. The unit is involved in counterinsurgency operations in the Pir Panjal region of Jammu division, where there has been an uptick in violence.

While the Army has confirmed that one person was injured, reports suggest that at least five people – including three officers – were injured. Among those injured are a commanding officer, his deputy and a medical officer from 48 Rashtriya Rifles.

According to reports, the Major has been identified as ‘Prince’ and might have had a panic attack. He “created a hue and cry about a possible terror attack”, according to NDTV, even though the camp was not under attack.

The officer started firing on his colleagues and subordinates without any provocation on Thursday afternoon. He then took shelter inside the armoury of the camp and hurled grenades at those who tried to approach him.

The tense situation at the camp lasted nearly eight hours before the officer was overpowered.

As The Wire has reported, incidents of fratricide – or attempted fratricide – are an indication of the stressful working conditions that soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir face.

Pakistan Calls India’s Action Over Accidental Missile Firing ‘Inadequate’

‘If indeed India has nothing to hide, it must accept Pakistan’s demand for a joint probe in the spirit of transparency,’ Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said.

New Delhi: Pakistan has rejected India’s action over the March 9 accidental firing of a supersonic missile that landed in its territory and demanded a joint probe.

Pakistan had lodged its protest with India the day after the firing, March 10. On March 11, the defence ministry said the missile was fired accidentally and it landed in Pakistan.

The services of three officers of the Indian Air Force were terminated two days ago, on August 23, after a Court of Inquiry (CoI) found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by them led to the accidental firing of the missile.

The Foreign Office in a late Wednesday night statement said Pakistan has seen India’s announcement of the findings of an internal CoI regarding the “incident of firing of a rogue supersonic missile” into its territory and the decision to terminate the services of three IAF officers reportedly found responsible for the reckless incident.

“Pakistan categorically rejects India’s purported closure of the highly irresponsible incident and reiterates its demand for a joint probe,” it said.

“As expected, the measures taken by India in the aftermath of the incident and the subsequent findings and punishments handed by the so-called internal Court of Inquiry are totally unsatisfactory, deficient and inadequate.”

It alleged that India has not only failed to respond to Pakistan’s demand for a joint inquiry but has also evaded the questions raised by Pakistan regarding the command and control system in place in India, the safety and security protocols and the “reason for India’s delayed admission of the missile launch”.

It said systemic loopholes and technical lapses of serious nature in handling of strategic weapons “cannot be covered up beneath the veneer of individual human error”.

“If indeed India has nothing to hide, it must accept Pakistan’s demand for a joint probe in the spirit of transparency,” it demanded.

It further said the “imprudent Indian action” of March 9 had “jeopardized” the peace and security environment of the entire region while “Pakistan showed exemplary restraint” which was a testament of its systemic maturity and abiding commitment to peace as a responsible nuclear state.

Pakistan reiterated its demand that the Indian government must immediately provide specific responses to the queries raised by Islamabad after the incident and accedes to its call for a joint probe.

(With PTI inputs)

Three IAF Officers Sacked for ‘Accidental Firing’ of BrahMos Missile That Landed in Pak

A statement by the Indian Air Force said that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile.

New Delhi: Three officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were sacked on Tuesday for the accidental firing of a missile that landed in Pakistan in March this year after a Court of Inquiry (CoI) found that they deviated from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). The IAF also confirmed that the missile was a BrahMos make, as defence experts had speculated.

An official statement said the services of the officers were terminated because their actions were responsible for the accidental firing of the missile.

“A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on March 9. A Court of Inquiry (Col), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile,” the statement said.

“These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on August 23,” it said.

Though the IAF did not mention the ranks and names of the officials whose services have been terminated, it is learnt that a Group Captain is among them, according to the news agency PTI.

The accidental firing took place on March 9 and Pakistan had lodged its protest with India the next day.

On March 11, the defence ministry said the missile was fired accidentally and it landed in Pakistan.

The ministry had said then that it was caused by a technical malfunction in the course of the routine maintenance of the missile, adding the government has taken a serious view of the incident.

Separately, defence minister Rajnath Singh told parliament on March 15 that the SOPs for operations, maintenance, and inspection of such systems were being reviewed.

Following the incident, Pakistan summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad and conveyed its strong protest over the “unprovoked” violation of its airspace by the supersonic “projectile” of Indian origin.

Major General Babar Iftikhar, the Director-General of the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan, said the unarmed projectile entered the Pakistani airspace travelling 124 km.

The Pakistan foreign office said the “super-sonic flying object” entered Pakistan from India’s Suratgarh and fell to the ground near Mian Channu city, causing damage to civilian property.

The Pakistan foreign office also called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident and demanded that its outcome be shared with Islamabad.

The accidental firing was also taken stock overseas because it was the first-ever such episode involving two nuclear-weapon states who are hostile towards each other.

(With PTI inputs)

Four Army Men Booked for Raping Speech- and Hearing-Impaired Woman

The alleged offence took place between January and June 2015 at the Military Hospital – Kirkee in Pune’s Khadki suburb.

Pune: Four army personnel have been booked for allegedly raping and molesting a 34-year-old speech- and hearing-impaired woman employee of a military hospital here in Maharashtra in 2015, police said on Wednesday.

Besides the police, the army too is conducting a ‘court of inquiry’ against the four personnel, who also worked in the same military hospital at the time.

The alleged offence took place between January and June 2015 at the Military Hospital – Kirkee in Pune’s Khadki suburb. The woman has been working at the facility since 2014.

Also read: When it Comes to Rape By Men in Uniform, the Media Forgets the Victim is Also Part of the ‘Nation‘

“According to the woman’s complaint, she was on night duty (at the hospital) when she was allegedly raped by one of the accused, who at the time was posted at the hospital,” a senior police official said.

When the survivor told another personnel about the incident, he initially told her that he would reprimand the “accused”. “But, he too sought sexual favours from her by threatening her to make the message viral, and allegedly raped her. After some days, two more personnel approached the woman and allegedly took advantage of her,” the police official said.

Also read: 26 Years After Kunan Poshpora, Army Still Enjoys Immunity For Sexual Violence

The woman, a class IV employee at the hospital, had approached an NGO in Indore, Madhya Pradesh earlier this year. The NGO subsequently approached the Indore police.

On Tuesday night, the Indore police informed about the matter to their Pune counterpart, who have registered a case against the four personnel under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 354 (molestation), he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Army’s Southern Command said they were conducting an inquiry into the matter.

“The court of inquiry was initiated well before the police complaint was registered,” the official said.

(PTI)