Retired Army Gen Calls Out ‘Human Shield’ Clip, Sparks Twitter Row

The video of a Kashmiri man tied to the front of an army jeep has triggered authorities to launch investigations.
Sushant Talwar
India
Updated:
The video of a Kashmiri man tied to the front of an army jeep has triggered authorities to launch investigations. (Photo: Altered by The Quint)
The video of a Kashmiri man tied to the front of an army jeep has triggered authorities to launch investigations. (Photo: Altered by <b>The Quint</b>)
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Last week, a video showing a man tied to an army jeep, allegedly as a human shield against stone-pelters in Kashmir, went viral, causing much outrage on the social media. Battle lines have been drawn with many defending the incident, while others calling the visuals a proof of the Indian Army’s excesses in the Valley.

The video of the man identified as Farooq Dar has triggered civil and army authorities to launch separate investigations. On Sunday, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat apprised National Security Advisor Ajit Doval of the security situation in Kashmir after the viral video surfaced on the internet.

Amidst the growing outrage, one of Army’s own – retired Lieutenant General HS Panag – took to twitter to condemn the move of using a civilian as a shield against stone-pelters.

The retired army man’s words were met with strong criticism on social media, with singer Abhijeet branding him a “Pak supporter” for his opinion. His tweet, in turn, provoked a strong reply from the retired General.

Panag’s reaction provoked known names such as Mohandas Pai, Ashoke Pandit and army veterans to accuse him of backing the ISI’s ‘campaign’. Some others came out to argue against the army using force against civilians in the valley.

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General Panag Finds Support

Criticism of Panag’s opinion did not go down well with many, who supported the army veteran’s view.

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Published: 16 Apr 2017,11:27 PM IST

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