Who was Capt. Saurabh Kalia?
Captain Saurabh Kalia was one of the first Indian casualties of the 1999 Kargil war.
On May 15, 1999 Lt Kalia along with five jawans went on a routine patrol of the Bajrang Post when their patrol was captured by Pakistani intruders after invading Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir in May. Lt Kalia was then only 22.
Lt Kalia and his men were tortured, after which their mutilated bodies were returned to the Indian Army.
What Exactly Happened?
Lt. Kalia’s eyes and eardrums were pierced, his genitalia cut, his chest burned and other brutalities inflicted on him.
His father Dr N K Kalia, a senior scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has urged the government and other important offices to take up the case of human rights violations and the flouting of the Geneva Convention on war crimes by Pakistan.
What is the Government’s Stance?
Just a day ago, the BJP government’s stance was to not approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about the torture and killing of Captain Saurabh Kalia.
Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs had said that under the ICJ agreement for Commonwealth Countries, no issue related to another Commonwealth country could be raised and that it was not feasible to pursue the matter.
But the stance appears to have changed after mounting pressure from the media and the opposition.
From No Chance to Exception
Latest media reports suggest that the government has finally decided to push the case of Capt. Kalia’s death at the International Court of Justice, since “it is an exceptional circumstance”. Sushma Swaraj is saying that the government will take up the issue at the ICJ.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has consistently denied the charges of torture, stating that the soldiers may have died because of poor weather conditions.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)