SRINAGAR Pictures of a dead militant, supine and facedown with army soldiers pulling the chain tied to his legs, in Reasi district of Jammu went viral on social media on Friday and attracted widespread condemnation.
The netizens accused Army of barbarism as pictures surfaced in which soldiers are seen dragging on a tarred road the militant by chains tethered to his legs, with people in Kashmir calling the act another instance of brutal human rights violation.
The armyalready facing a raft of allegations over rights violations in the insurgency-hit statehas yet to issue a statement on the latest controversy that erupted after soldiers and policemen killed three militants at Dhirti village near the Kakryal area of southwest Kashmirs Reasi district on Thursday morning.
The joint operation was conducted after militants fired at policemen in a café and escaped into the woods in Jhajjar Kotli along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Jammu district the previous day. The fugitives were later detected and engaged at Dhirti.
Barbaric. This explains Indian army’s human rights conduct tweets activist Khurram Pervez.
Fellow activist Shrimoyee posted the picture with her comments: Horrific images of desecration/ disrespect to bodies of enemy combatants killed in combat (gun battle with their Indian soldiers). This is a war crime.
A similar remark came from Hameedah Nayeem, who teaches English literature at the University of Kashmir. The most barbaric conduct of the most professional Indian Army. Have a look. Even the vilest person would respect the dead body. This conduct fetches awards and trophies in India! Any surprises?
This is not the first time the army is facing allegations of mistreating dead militants.
The awards were in reference to another controversy that drew international attention when it happened in April 2017. A video showed an army major driving a jeep with a man, a weaver who had gone to vote in elections, tied to the bonnet as a human shield against stone-throwing protesters. The officer was later decorated with a medal for his exemplary service in Kashmir.
Another picture
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Meanwhile, in the Jammu region, the rare gunfight also drew Hindutva activists to the spot to pose for pictures. One such picture circulated on social media showed top state Bajrang Dal leader Rakesh Sharma, taking a selfie with a dead body of a militant at the site of the gunfight.
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