Srinagar: Forty army personnel, including a commanding officer and a major, have been booked by the police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district for allegedly attacking police and vandalising a police station.
The police have registered an FIR against 17 Rashtriya Rifles commanding officer Colonel N Arun Gandhi, Major Vikas Sharma, Naib Subedar Shankar Gurkha and 30 to 40 other army personnel for barging into Atholi police station in Kishtwar and attacking government officials and police personnel.
The suspects have been charged with attempt to murder and destruction of public property. The army has said it will cooperate with the investigation.
Those assaulted by the soldiers include Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar Bhagat and Station House Officer (SHO) of Atoli police station Amrit Katoch.
The SHO, in an FIR, said that the troops barged into the police station and attacked the police station while they were attending a government function presided over by the District Magistrate Kishtwar at the Block Development Office in Paddar.
The SHO said that he had returned to the police station after receiving information about the violent incident taking place inside the police station.
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‘An FIR has been registered at Atoli police station in Kishtwar. The matter is being investigated through appropriate institutional mechanisms. The Indian Army is fully cooperating in the legal process. Appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome of the joint investigation. “It would be premature to comment further at this stage as investigations are ongoing,” a defence spokesperson told NDTV.
“As soon as they entered the police station premises, the army personnel, led by Major Vikas Sharma, aggressively and physically assaulted the victims. During the scuffle, they tore off their uniforms and also assaulted Atholi SDPO Shri Vijay Kumar Bhagat,” the FIR said.
The FIR alleged that the attack was pre-planned and several policemen were injured. The army personnel were carrying lathis, iron rods and service weapons when they forced their way inside the police station by scaling the main gate and boundary walls, the FIR alleged.
According to reports, the forces stormed the police station after the Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) of Kishtwar seized an army vehicle.
During the attack, the army also attacked ARTO Kishtwar and his personal security officers (PSO) who were inside the police station premises, the FIR said.
“The attackers caused extensive damage to government and public property. They vandalised ARTO’s official vehicle, Atholi police station SHO’s vehicle, SDPO Atholi and the main gate of the police station,” the FIR said.
The attack was pre-planned and the police alleged that the army personnel wanted to kill the police personnel on duty.