No Arrest Yet In Kishtwar Army Police Standoff

Following the army’s alleged storming of a police station in Kishtwar on Wednesday and a subsequent FIR against the commanding officer of 17 RR and 30 to 40 other soldiers, no arrests have been made so far, officials familiar with the development said on Friday.

“We may take action but it is too early to say anything on how the situation would further unfold. We will wait and watch but no arrest has been made so far,” said a senior police officer.

The official added that since the army and the J&K Police are the two principal uniformed forces responsible for maintaining law and order and combating terrorism in the Union territory, a reconciliation eventually has to be worked out.

“The soldier was in civvies driving a civilian vehicle and he grossly misbehaved with the policemen in pilot vehicle leading Kishtwar DC’s motorcade on narrow road that day,” he added.

An army officer, however, said both sides would have to resolve the matter amicably.

“The lack of coordination and communication escalated a trivial issue into unwarranted fracas. The army and J&K Police will reach an amicable resolution sooner or later,” the official said.

Sources in the army said that Nagrota-based White Knight Corps have sought a detailed report on the entire incident.

On Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Police registered an FIR against the Commanding Officer of the 17 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), a Major, a Naib Subedar, and 30 to 40 soldiers for allegedly storming the Atholi police station in Kishtwar district.

The army personnel have been accused of violently assaulting senior police officers and vandalising government property. Atholi is located in the Paddar Valley 42km east of the Kishtwar district headquarters and lies about 210km from Jammu.

Those named in the first information report (FIR) are Colonel N Arun Gandhi, the CO, Major Vikas Sharma, Naib Subedar Shanker Gurkhe, sepoy (general duty) Raj Kumar, and sepoys Rahul Kumar, Anoop Singh, and Omkar Ingale, alongside 30 to 40 unnamed jawans. The investigation has been handed over to police sub-inspector Adarsh Kant.

Amid competing claims by both sides, army sources maintained that the FIR stemmed from a breakdown in coordination between the civil administration and the army.

A principal correspondent, Ravi Krishnan Khajuria is the bureau chief at Jammu. He covers politics, defence, crime, health and civic issues for Jammu city.