Chandigarh, July 9
Family members of two jawans found dead on sentry duty under suspicious circumstances in their unit in Jammu and Kashmir have moved the Rajasthan High Court, alleging that the Army is trying to cover up the incident.
The family members have also sent a representation to the President and the Defence Minister in this regard.
The soldiers, Nk K.C. Tripathi and Jai Ram of a Rajput Regiment located in Ikwan, died on December 27, 2005.
They were manning a light machine gun post near the perimeter at night.
When the report of the court of inquiry (CoI), conducted by Col V.M. Patki, Commanding Officer of a Rashtriya Rifles battalion, were sent to the Headquarters 16 Corps for directions, the Judge Advocate General’s branch at the Corps Headquarters opined that it be treated as a case of an untraced accused and the matter be closed.
The unit’s Subedar Major had given vital clues to the involvement of the suspect during his deposition in the CoI.
At least 50 witnesses had been examined by the CoI.
Moreover, no FIR was known to have been registered with the local police.
The family members accused certain Army officials of conniving with the prime suspect, said to be a senior NCO of the company of the deceased.
The suspect reportedly had an altercation with Tripathi a few hours before the incident, where the victim had threatened to expose various misdeeds by the accused.
Two three round bursts were heard around 4.30 am, but no militant activity was reported, according to the CoI.
An AK-47 rifle was recovered from the post beside the two bodies, along with three empty cartridges.
Another three cartridges were found some distance away.
The bodies bore bullet wounds on the chest and entry points of bullets in both cases were very close to each other.
It was initially thought that one of the deceased had shot the other and then committed suicide, but the civil doctor at Rajouri, Dr Kulwant Singh, who conducted the postmortem examination, had opined otherwise.
Given the length of the rifle, the place and the lack of gunpowder residue, it was concluded that both had been shot from a distance.
The unit’s officers concerned had asked the suspected NCO to pack the rifle for sending it to the forensic laboratory at Jammu.
The laboratory had reported that there was no fingerprint on the rifle, but instead bore traces of soap wash.
In their petition, the family members had contended that the court of inquiry had not been finalised though six months had elapsed, due to which their rightful dues had still not been released, and sought jobs for at least one member of each family.
