Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 27: The Border Security Force (BSF) has turned down the demand for court martial proceedings against the jawans of its 76 battalion, deployed at Dharam camp in Gool, which was involved in firing on the mob along with police on July 18 in which four civilians were killed and 42 others were injured.
“No case has been made out for court martial proceedings against the troops,’’ BSF Special Director General Dilip Trivedi has reportedly said in his inquiry report submitted to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Thursday.
The inquiry report has strongly countered police version that the BSF had fired without its orders saying in “life threatening situation’’ the CrPC provided for firing without any authorisation.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Mr Trivedi, who had visited Gool on July 20 and inter-acted with BSF and police officials, apart from civilians to take their viewpoint into account, has turned down the demand voiced by various “human rights group’’ and “civil society members’’, some of them self-styled, for holding court-martial proceedings against the BSF jawans and holding them responsible for the killings of four civilians on the ground that the troops had indulged in “unprovoked firing’’.
“After detailed investigations and taking eyewitness account, version of independent agencies and others, it has been concluded that no case was made out for court-martial proceedings as the BSF had been left with no other option but to open fire in self-defence,’’ the report said.
It has also strongly countered the argument put forth by Ramban district police that the BSF was at fault for resorting to firing without waiting for the orders of the district SP, who was present at the spot during the mob attack on the camp on July 18 morning.
It maintained that the BSF was well within the CrPC to open firing as the situation at that time had reached the level of ‘life threatening’ as huge mob was bent upon overrunning the BSF camp, cause casualties among them and loot their weapons.
“In life threatening situation, the authorisation for firing was not required,’’ sources said.
Police had contended that the BSF had resorted to firing without its authorisation.
Asserting that its troops had exercised maximum restraint, the BSF Special DG’s report said they had been left with no option but to open firing in self-defence after third attack by the mob that took place at 9.30 am, the previous two being at 3 am and 6.30 am.
The BSF has, however, refused to be drawn into the blame-game as to who actually opened firing first on the mob—BSF or police.
“It couldn’t be established due to chaos at the venue,’’ the BSF report said.
There had been different versions on who actually fired first at the mob. While one eyewitness account said that it was Sub Inspector Mohammad Fazal Wani, who had fired first at the mob after being trapped among the protesters, who were targeting him for being the local, other people had been claiming that it was the BSF, which has opened the fire.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said yesterday that it was the BSF and not police, which had opened first fire on the protesters in Gool.
The BSF has reportedly said that the police might have taken one of its jawan, who was also injured in the firing, as a protester.
“As the BSF jawan was returning to his camp, he was hit by the bullet. There was a possibility that he was hit by the police bullets along with the protesters,’’ the report said.
Initially, the BSF had suspected that someone from within the mob might have opened firing on the security forces causing injuries to the jawan.
As already reported, the BSF Special Director General had stated that there was no sacrilege act committed by the BSF and it was Mohammad Latif, who had instigated the mob after being stopped for checking during the night.
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