Asks Army to fight terrorism but win hearts of people too
Rajouri/Jammu: While asserting that the Indian Army has an unparalleled role of defending the nation against all odds, Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh today said that it (Army) should also focus on winning the hearts of the countrymen.
The minister was addressing the troops at Rajouri during his visit today in the aftermath of an encounter that left five soldiers dead. Following the encounter, dead bodies of three civilians, who reportedly were picked up by the Army for questioning were found near encounter site. Police has already registered an FIR and Army has initiated an internal probe as the locals alleged that the trio was killed in custody.
“While defending the nation, you have to win the hearts of the people too. I know, you always try to do so, but maybe there are some lapses. Ensure no such lapse takes place that hurts any Indian citizen,” he said.
He asked the Army that the country they are defending, they should be in touch with its citizens too.
“You have been doing it all along, need is to do it more seriously,” he counselled.
He counselled the troops to interact with citizens on a regular basis.
“Visit them, meet them, listen to them. Register their grievances and ensure that the same reaches the concerned official quarters,” he said.
He emphasised that while the Army has to defeat the terrorism, at the same time, it has to win the hearts of the people.
“We will win all wars and battles, we will finish terrorism but at the same time, we have to win the hearts of the people,” Singh said.
“There is a huge responsibility on your shoulders and I am confident that you will do it with full dedication,” he said.
Singh, accompanied by Army chief General Manoj Pande and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, reached Rajouri district this afternoon, where he met the families of the deceased and also visited the Government Medical College (GMC) to enquire about the health of four other “torture” victims.
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.
Defence Minister assured justice to the families of three civilians who were found dead last week after being allegedly picked up by the Army following an ambush on two Army vehicles in Poonch district.
“Please have faith in us. Nobody can bring back to life those who have died. But there will be justice,” Singh told five members of three families of the deceased.
Singh 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 the 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.
Four soldiers lost their lives 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), Mohammad Showket (27) and Shabir Ahmad (32)– were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning following the attack and they were later found dead on December 22. Video clips purportedly showing the torture of the detained civilians went viral on social media.
Four people — Mohammad Zulfkar, his brother Mohammad Betab, Fazal Hussain and Mohammad Farooq — were admitted in the GMC hospital, Rajouri last Friday after they were allegedly beaten up by the troops in Thanamandi area of Rajouri during the anti-terrorist operation. The search for terrorists is going on in both Surankote and Thanamandi forest belt.
“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.
She said they are hopeful that the victim families will get justice, given the visit of the defence minister to share the pain and his assurance.
“While condemning this incident, we also pay our tributes to our brave soldiers and express our condolences to their families. We the people of Rajouri-Poonch will not allow the inimical elements within or outside the country to take benefit of such type of incidents,” Ganai said.
Sohail Malik, DDC member, Surankote, said the defence minister assured them that all those responsible for the incident would be dealt with as per the law of the land.
The incident had triggered an outrage with the people demanding justice, compensation and jobs for the victim families, Malik said, expressing satisfaction over the visit of the defence minister and his assurance to them.
Singh paid his tributes to the fallen soldiers and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured personnel.
“I want to assure you that given the seriousness of the incident, required and appropriate steps would be taken. For us, every soldier is a part of the family and his life is very precious … any one eyeing our soldiers is not acceptable to us,” he said.
“The government treasury is open for further beefing up the security and the intelligence gathering,” he said.
“The sacrifice of the soldiers is unparalleled and cannot be compensated with money. The void can never be fulfilled,” he added.
