M A I N   N E W S

Army to relook into Capt Kohli’s death

New Delhi, September 7
Defence Minister AK Antony has ordered a fresh probe into the death of Capt Sumit Kohli in Jammu and Kashmir in 2006 after his family claimed it was not suicide but murder.

The family had met Antony a fortnight ago and made a representation seeking an independent probe or a CBI investigation into the mysterious death of Capt Kohli, 26. He was serving with 16 Rashtriya Rifles in Lolab in north Kashmir when he was found dead with gunshot wounds in his room in the military residential facility in April 2006 on the last day of posting in the state.

Following the family's request, Antony directed Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar to get the case re-investigated, ministry sources said here today. Antony also wrote a letter to Veena Kohli, mother of the young officer, informing her that he had directed the ministry to urgently inquire into the case, they said. "I have directed the ministry to have the matter inquired urgently," Antony's letter to Veena said. Veena had demanded a probe independent of the Army, saying she had no faith in the Army which had held that Sumit had committed suicide.

Capt Kohli’s sister Namrata, speaking to PTI from Chandigarh over the phone, quoted Antony's letter to state that he had asked for an urgent probe into the officer's death.

He had won the Shaurya Chakra, the country's third highest peacetime gallantry medal, just two months before his death. On receiving the news of his son's demise, his father suffered a stroke and died a day after the officer's cremation. — PTI