The Ministry of Defence dismissed a report published earlier on Monday which stated that an army Court of Inquiry had given a ‘clean chit’ to the Major from 53 Rashtriya Rifles who had tied a Kashmiri man to an army jeep as a ‘human shield’ against stone-pelters.
Rejecting Mail Today’s report, the PRO told The Quint that the probe conducted by the Court of Inquiry on the incident is “still incomplete”.
Demanding the report to be corrected, in a notice the PRO spokesperson Col Aman Anand said:
…It is impropriate to speculate on the findings of the inquiry based on information given by unverified sources. May I request that the journalist be advised to corroborate factual information from official sources when reporting on sensitive military issues and this news report may, therefore, accordingly be corrected.
Quoting sources, Mail Today had reported that “not even disciplinary actions were recommended against the officer”. The sources in the report said that the Major was “congratulated for his acumen”.
The incident occurred on 9 April in Budgam when Farooq Ahmad Dar was used as a human shield against stone-pelters on a five-vehicle convoy.
Subsequent video footage showing Dar strapped to the jeep went viral, prompting an FIR to be filed by the Jammu and Kashmir police over the incident.
Though army sources maintained that Dar was a stone-pelter, Dar claimed that he had stepped out to cast his vote when he was picked up by jawans on his way back home.
Will Never Vote Again, Says Dar
Meanwhile, Dar seems to have little or no hope for justice. He filed a complaint against the army with the State Human Rights Commission, but does not expect much to come of it.
He maintains that he was not pelting stones. He said he had cast his vote in the bypolls and was on his way to a funeral when he was forcefully tied to the jeep as a human shield.
Everyone on TV was saying I was pelting stones and so I deserved it. But the truth is, I have proof that I voted and then left my village to attend the funeral of my relative. How can I expect justice from anyone?Dar to Firstpost
"Since that day I have only made one vow that I will never vote in my life come what may," he added.
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