M A I N   N E W S

Akhnoor killings send govt into a tizzy
PM keeping up with latest reports
Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 22
The unprecedented incident of the Northern Army Commander, Lieut-Gen Hari Prasad, and GOC of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, Lieut-Gen TPS Brar, getting injured and a Brigadier of the EME being killed in a terrorist attack on Akhnoor Army camp today sent the Central Government in a tizzy with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself keeping abreast with the latest developments.

While Defence Minister George Fernandes would be visiting the spot tomorrow, the Army Headquarters here was also working overtime to maintain the much needed calm after one of the most sensational and unprecedented incidents to hit the Army during the operations in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources here said that the Prime Minister was being kept informed of the situation as it developed with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Defence Ministry being in constant touch throughout the afternoon. The Defence Minister also remained closeted with the senior officers of his ministry and the senior Army officers after the first reports came in at about 2 pm.

In fact the Defence Minister cancelled an engagement in the evening in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) itself to remain abreast with the situation. The minister was to flag in a Himalayan Mountaineering Institute expedition team that successfully climbed Mount Everest recently. It was finally flagged in by Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad.

The attack in Akhnoor came just hours after the terrorists had stormed the Army camp and killed seven jawans early in the morning.

Sources here said that the Northern Army Commander, the GOC 16 Corps and Brigadier Govil of the EME were taken by surprise by the lone terrorist who was part of the group which had carried out the attack in the morning. The three officers were standing in the Army camp when the hiding terrorist came out and shot at the Army officers.

He apparently lobbed a hand grenade first and then started shooting from his automatic weapon killing the Brigadier before he was shot dead by the Army jawans surrounding the three senior officers.

Sources here said that Lieut-Gen Prasad and Lieut-Gen Brar received minor injuries and would be attending office tomorrow.

Meanwhile, reports also suggested that the Army Headquarters was expected to carry out a high-level inquiry into the incident. Since it was not only an unprecedented incident but it also reflected a major security lapse on the part of the Army in Akhnoor.

Apparently, teams from the Army battalions based there had carried out a combing operation of the nearby area but were unable to locate the hiding terrorist. Moreover, the authorities there also apparently had no knowledge of the third terrorist and after the two terrorists were killed in the morning it was accepted that there was no third man with them.

However, now what had emerged was that the third terrorist of the Al Shuba group, which has claimed responsibility for the attack, was hiding in the thick greens just outside the camp.