India News: Defence minister Rajnath Singh emphasized that the Army's primary duty is to protect the nation and win the hearts of Indians. He expressed concern ov
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the Army's primary duty is to protect the nation but it must also win the hearts of Indians and ensure there are "no mistakes made" that end up hurting the citizens, in an apparent reference to the deaths of three men while in Army custody.
Speaking to soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, Singh said he had full faith that the Army will wipe out terrorism from J&K.
"I believe in your bravery and steadfastness … Terrorism should be finished from J&K and you need to move forward with this commitment. I have full faith that you will achieve victory," said Singh, who is on a day-long tour in Rajouri district to review the security situation in the wake of a recent terrorist ambush in the border district of Poonch that left four soldiers dead.
In an apparent reference to the deaths of three men who were taken into Army custody shortly after the ambush, Singh urged soldiers to take action with care.
"Along with protecting the country, I would like to make a special request to you [soldiers]. It is your responsibility to protect the country. But along with protecting this country, winning the hearts of its citizens is also a very big responsibility on your shoulders ... I know that you are all trying to do this from your perspective. But it is possible that sometimes you feel sad. You should not feel sad. You should not feel sad in such a way that will harm the citizens of India. You are serving the country. You should stay close to the people of that country. You should gain their trust. You should increase their understanding," said the minister.
Noting the "unparalleled sacrifice" of soldiers, Singh said it is the gargantuan responsibility of the Army to ensure the security of the nation while also winning the hearts of the citizens.
The Army has launched an internal investigation into the alleged custodial deaths and the kin of the three deceased have been given Rs 10 lakh in compensation.
Rajnath meets kin of slain civilians
After speaking with the soldiers, Singh met the families of the three civilians who allegedly died in Army custody.
Singh, accompanied by Army chief General Manoj Pande and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, met the families of the deceased and also visited the Government Medical College (GMC) to enquire about the health of four other "torture" victims.
Several District Development Council (DDC) members, former legislators and civil society members were also present at the meeting between the defence minister, Lt Governor and the families of the deceased civilians.
"Whatever has happened ... there will be justice," the defence minister told reporters at the GMC hospital.
Three civilians -- Safeer Hussain (43), Mohd Showket (27) and Shabir Ahmad (32)-- were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning following the attack and they were later found dead on December 22. Video clips purportedly showing torture of the detained civilians went viral on social media.
Four people -- Mohd Zulfkar, his brother Mohd Betab, Fazal Hussain and Mohd Farooq -- were admitted in the GMC hospital, Rajouri last Friday after they were allegedly beaten up by the troops in Thanamandi area of Rajouri during the anti-terrorist operation.
The search for terrorists is going on in both Surankote and Thanamandi forest belt.
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Takla madarchod is going overboard with his sermons. Send him with a basket of iftar offerings next time to some remote Poonch village or tell him to personally go and exchange sweets with Pak Army just as NS did with PLA only to wake up one morning and learn we'd lost 20 troops in an act of betrayal by the PLA.
Must suck to be a soldier in times like these. Can't be more demoralizing. To repeatedly lose colleagues and officers, one incident allegedly becomes a flashpoint and takes prominence over 30+ officers & men from IA killed in the region by terrorists who have got support from the local population, only to get long sermons after the other from people who would shit their pants if asked to serve for a year in the region.
i mean they took 3 of our guys heads , probably will release beheading video like they did in UPA time . we cant be that much of chutiyas to take this bullshit.
