SRINAGAR, May 30: A police First Information Report (FIR) has named 16 army men including three Lieutenant Colonels in connection with the assault on a police station in the Kupwara district of J&K.
The FIR accused the Army men of abducting a cop and kicking and beating other cops with rifle butts and sticks on Tuesday night.
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The army men have been booked for attempt to murder, rioting, abduction and robbery among other charges of the Indian Penal Code.
Five policemen were injured in the attack when army men allegedly barged “unauthorisedly” into the police station around 11.40 pm.
The officers named in the FIR include Lieutenant Colonels Ankit Sood, Raju Chauhan and Nikhil from the 160 Territorial Army.
The police FIR said a “huge number of armed and uniformed personnel of 160 Territorial Army” led by the three officers “unauthorisedly entered the premises” of Police Station Kupwara.
“They collectively and without any provocation in the form of unlawful assembly severely attacked the staff and officers present at the police station with rifle butts, kicks and sticks,” it read.
It said the information was immediately conveyed to senior police officers who rushed to the police station to rescue them.
“Upon seeing the arrival of police units and senior police officers the alleged personnel and officers of 160 Territorial Army led by Lieutenant Colonel Ankit Sood, Raju Chauhan and Nikhil brandished their weapons and snatched the mobile phones of the injured personnel and SHO (Station House Officer) PS (Police station) Kupwara Inspector Mohammad Ishaq and while fleeing they abducted MHC ( Muharir Head Constable) Ghulam Rasool along with them and absconded from the spot,” it said.
The army men have been booked under sections 186 (Voluntary obstruction of public servant in discharge of his public duty), 332 (voluntarily causing harm to deter public servant from doing his duty), 307 (attempt to murder), 342 (wrongful confinement of a person), 147(rioting), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence in the prosecution of common object), 392 (robbery), 397 (use of deadly weapons during a robbery or dacoity) and 365 (kidnapping and abduction with intent to be secretly or wrongful confinement) of the IPC.
The police have also booked the army personnel under section 7/25 of the Arms act.
Police have launched investigations under Deputy Superintendent of Police Syeed Peerzada Mujahidul Haq.
The army raid had come after police raided the residence of a local TA jawan wanted in some investigation.
A Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Wednesday played down the incident and said “the reports of altercation between police and army personnel” and “beating up therein of police personnel are mis-founded and incorrect”.
“Minor differences between the police personnel and a territorial army unit on an operational matter have been amicably resolved,” the spokesperson then said. (Agencies)
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