Have ‘professional conduct’ in J&K, Rajnath Singh tells Army Commanders after civilian killings

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday told the Indian Army Commanders to have “professional conduct” even as he described as “unfortunate” recent incidents of killing of three civilians which created a public uproar in Jammu and Kashmir leading to attachment of four senior officers to face a court of inquiry.

The Defence Minister, who took stock of the security situation along the Line of Control (LoC), urged all ranks to undertake operations based on hard intelligence in accordance with established procedures aided by niche technology, Ministry of Defence stated in a statement issued after his visit.

“Indian Army is not an ordinary army. The soldiers are our protectors. It is their duty to not only safeguard national interests, but also to win the hearts of the people,” Rajnath Singh cautioned the Army in J&K. The Minister was accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi.

He also advised the troops to remain extra vigilant, so that no untoward incident occurs in future, insisting on more than one occasion that there should be zero tolerance to terrorism. He also called for professional conduct and due diligence while carrying out operations, the MoD said.

The Minister paid tributes to the soldiers killed in terror attack on two convoys and conveyed his deepest condolences to the families of the bravehearts. He wished a speedy recovery of the injured soldiers, emphasising that all necessary measures are being taken in view of the prevailing situation. an attack by terrorists on two Army convoys that killed four soldiers in Poonch district recently.

He urged all Commanders to have zero tolerance for violations of the well-established SOPs.

Singh also met with the families of the deceased persons, residents of village Topa Peer of Bufliaz in Poonch district, and assured expeditious investigation into the incident which is second since 2020 encounter where Army killed three youngsters from Rajouri in a fake encounter. An Army officer was convicted by a court of inquiry but he was let off by a court.

Singh, however, expressed satisfaction for the high level of synergy between the security forces, civil administration, J&K Police, Central Armed Police Forces and other security agencies in projecting a clear message of resoluteness towards improving of the security environment, that is conducive to fostering a new era of development in the Union Territory.

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