Terming the new policy to be totally in contravention of law and SC judgments, the ex-servicemen organisation have claimed that the new rules place soldiers at a disadvantage when compared to civilian employees
The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association has strongly protested the new policy by Ministry of Defence (MoD) on disability and death benefits of Defence personnel and their widows. (Representational image via Canva)
The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association has strongly protested the new policy made public Wednesday by Ministry of Defence (MoD) on disability and death benefits of Defence personnel and their widows.
Terming the new policy to be totally in contravention of law and SC judgments, the ex-servicemen organisation have claimed that the new rules place soldiers at a disadvantage when compared to civilian employees.
The association has demanded that the letter issued on September 22 be withdrawn immediately. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Bhim Sen Sehgal, chairperson of All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, pointed out that under the new rules, the disability pension/disability element of pension shall now be called ‘Impairment Relief’. “The definition of Invalidation has also been changed in a regressive manner and it has been reiterated that there would be a requirement of ten years of service to earn an Invalid Pension. This requirement was already abrogated for civilian employees in January 2019,” the letter reads.
“The service connection of disabilities has also been altered, belying medical science and common sense. For example, the existing rules and also the CCS (EOP) rules for civilians, provide that all heart diseases are linked with stress and strain of service without any preconditions attached. However, the new rules of the MoD state that heart diseases shall only be considered as linked with service in case the same occur in high altitude areas ,” the association said in the letter.
My father used to tell me often how when he was a Gentlemen Cadet as part of the Third Regular Course in the Indian Military Academy (IMA) during Partition, all the cadets were summoned by the then Commandant, Brigadier AB Barltrop, to the ante room and asked whether they would like to remain in India or be sent to Pakistan. The time to decide was a matter of hours and young men in their teens without access to any sort of communication had to make this decision. It was broadly mandated that all Hindu and Sikh Gentleman Cadets were to remain in India and all Muslims belonging to Pakistan were to remain in Pakistan. The Muslim cadets from India were free to choose their country of residence. The Christian and Parsi cadets, too, could opt for any country.
The history of the Third Course is closely linked with Partition. They had reported to the Academy on January 20, 1947. Just down the road from IMA in Prem Nagar, there was a camp of about 10,000 Sikh and Hindu refugees from Pakistan. Soon after Independence, anti-Muslim riots began in Dehradun and the IMA suddenly found itself involved in preserving internal security. Brig Timick Lal of the Second Course, now in his nineties, clearly remembers being involved in patrolling as a cadet on foot and in Bren gun carriers, carrying out ambushes, from August to September 1947.
By October 1947, life in the IMA returned to normal. Some cadets had opted for Pakistan but were to leave only after completing their course. The British officers were making plans for their repatriation, but it seemed the Pakistani government had made representations to Gen Auchinleck regarding the safety of its cadets. There was the possibility of hostilities breaking out between the two countries, and the Pakistani authorities felt they could no longer leave them at Dehradun. Auchinleck could not deny their request.
The transfer of the officers and cadets to Pakistan remained cloaked in secrecy. As per Col Girdhari Singh, who wrote about it on the golden jubilee of the Third Course, “The cadets were watching a hockey match when Brig Barltrop entered the field from the goal end and signalled to the umpire, Maj AJ (Jim) Wilson, the Adjutant, to see him. The cadets knew all was not well. It was in the evening on October 17, 1947, when the cadets were ushered into an ante room in the Kingsley Block and told of the plan.”
It was apparently met with stunned silence. Eight hours later, after midnight, the Pakistani contingent moved out of the IMA gates with a few belongings (the rest were sent later) and drove to an air base near Saharanpur where Dakotas of the 31 Squadron of the Royal Air Force flew them to Lahore.
The parting was hurried but emotional. Some cadets had tears in their eyes, there was an exchange of gifts and promises to keep in touch. Sadly, this never materialised as the two countries would soon be at war. The departure of 67 cadets — 66 Muslims and one Christian — of the Third Course was carried out with such secrecy that the next morning the bearers were surprised to see their Gentlemen Cadets missing. Soon after, in November, Brig (later Maj Gen) Thakur Mahadeo Singh was appointed the first Indian Commandant of the Academy. Capt (later Lt Gen) SP Malhotra took over as the first Indian Adjutant of IMA.
Cadets of the Second and Third Course, who were undergoing training during Partition, were shaped by historical events in which they could not help but be immersed. They were part of the process of ‘Indianisation’ of the Army. The Third Course was the smallest batch ever to graduate from IMA. Its uniqueness is also seen in the truncated duration: it was cut short from two years to 21 months in response to the urgent military needs.
Trouble on the northern borders and a shortfall of Army officers resulted in the Indian government pushing for the Third Course to be commissioned even earlier than December 1948. A compromise date was reached and 185 cadets passed out of the IMA on September 12, 1948, with the Sword of Honour being awarded to Under Officer (later Maj Gen) Narinder Singh. The numbers would have been larger, but 67 of their coursemates had opted for Pakistan and finished training at the newly created Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul.
To make the occasion memorable, the salute at the passing-out parade was taken by Baldev Singh, the first Defence Minister of India.
Most of the newly commissioned officers went straight into action. Those in the Infantry were sent to Kashmir. Those in the Armoured Corps saw action in Operation Polo for the liberation of Hyderabad. Moreover, while still in training, they were deployed for patrolling and suppression of violence. As cadets, they even provided escorts and guides right up to Delhi.
As regards the Second Course; 249 of them had joined the Academy on August 8, 1946. Independence was on the horizon, so they were to be the leaders of a free India and were filled with patriotic zeal.
On October 14, 1947, towards the end of their course, 45 cadets left for Pakistan. As per Lt Gen Sushil Kumar, in his book ‘Jawan to General’: “Soon after their arrival at Chaklala, they were ‘commissioned’ on October 20, 1947, and sent to their respective Regiments.” The course passed out on December 21, 1947, with 189 Indian Gentlemen Cadets being commissioned as Second Lieutenants in a sparkling passing-out parade, for the first time under the Tricolour.
Brig Barltrop had urged when he announced the partition of IMA on October 14, 1947: “Those cadets and staff who remain at the IMA have the onerous task of consolidating the conditions and traditions of the Academy, which is to serve the Dominion of India. See to it that your work, conduct and discipline are worthy of the nation of which you are privileged to serve.”
Twelve officers of the Second Course attained the rank of Lieutenant General, five became Army Commanders and one the Military Secretary. The Sword of Honour was awarded to Senior Under Officer Harbhajan Singh.
The Third Course, too, did its alma mater proud, producing 12 Lieutenant Generals, 22 Major Generals, 10 Param Vishisht Seva Medal awardees, five Maha Vir Chakra awardees (one posthumous) and a Padma Shri awardee: Maj KC Johrey, IAS. There have been two Army Commanders, Lt Gen Hridaya Kaul and Lt Gen Ranjit Singh Dyal, and two became Commandants of the IMA: Lt Gen Matthew Thomas and Lt Gen Surjit Singh Brar.
The MVC awardees included Lt Col NN Khanna of 2 Sikh, Maj (later Lt Gen) Ranjit Singh Dyal of 1 Para, Lt Col Desmond Hadye of 3 Jat, Brig (later Lt Gen) K Gauri Shankar and Brig Mohindar Lal Whig.
The cadets who left for Pakistan formed the First Course of the PMA. Gentleman Cadet No. 391 at the IMA, who became Cadet No. 1 at the PMA, Rahim Uddin Khan, rose to the rank of General and became Joint Chief of Staff. The Instructors who left also had successful careers, including Capt Tikka Khan (the butcher of Bangladesh), a platoon commander who became the Pakistan army chief.
The two courses were witness to the process of Independence. Their distinguished record, leadership qualities and high standards of valour and service have been worthy of emulation!!
Imphal, September 27
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA was extended by another six months in Manipur on Wednesday barring 19 police stations falling under the Imphal valley and an area that shares its boundary with neighbouring Assam.
An official notification said the state government is of the opinion after analysing the prevailing law-and-order situation that it is not expedient to have detailed assessment on the ground as security agencies are preoccupied in maintenance of law and order.
“Now, therefore in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act… the Governor of Manipur hereby declare the entire state of Manipur excluding the areas falling under the jurisdiction of 19 police stations…as disturbed Area for a period of six months with effect from October 1, 2023,” the notification said.
The police station areas where the Disturbed Areas Act has not been imposed are Imphal, Lamphel, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Pastol, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingagng, Lamlai, Iribung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakchin and Jirbam.
Significantly, the areas that have been kept out of the purview of AFSPA are dominated by the majority Meitei community which includes Jiribam, adjacent to Silchar valley of Assam.
With the extension of AFSPA, the Army and Assam Rifles cannot operate inside the areas under the 19 police stations without the consent of the state police.
Security officials have been advocating bringing the entire state under AFSPA so that they could easily ensure that the presence of terror groups within the valley is reduced or eliminated, sources said.
The security agencies have been warning that banned terror groups United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup (KYKL), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and KCP have been forming their base in the Imphal valley of the state.
They have also been warning about the possibility of these terrorists mingling with crowds during any protest to stoke tensions in restive Manipur, the sources said.
They said at present UNLF has a cadre strength of 330 followed by PLA with 300 and KYKL with 25 who were active within the groups of the majority community.
The overwhelming support being extended to cadres of these banned organisations was witnessed on June 24, when Army and Assam Rifles, based on specific intelligence, nabbed 12 members of KYKL in East Imphal including self-styled ‘Lt Colonel’ Moirangthem Tamba alias Uttam.
Uttam was one of the masterminds of the ambush on 6 Dogra regiment in 2015 that left 18 army soldiers dead.
The officials said there were apprehensions that the arms and ammunition looted from the Manipur Police armoury could have landed with these terror groups.
Among the arms looted included .303 rifles, Medium Machine Guns (MMG) and AK assault rifles, carbines, Insas Light Machine Guns (LMG), Insas rifles, M-16 and MP5 rifles.
The officials said around 4,537 arms and 6.32 lakh rounds of ammunition were missing mainly from Manipur Police Training Centre (MTPC) at Pangei in East Imphal, 7th India Reserve battalion and 8th Manipur Rifles, both located at Khabeisoi in Imphal city.
The extension of the AFSPA in the hill areas was of least significance as more than 20 terror groups from the tribal areas had entered into an agreement Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Centre and the state government.
More than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
Rebuttal by
Lt Gen BPS Mander (Retd)
There is a very peculiar syndrome in India that when you excel in one
field, you tend to believe that you have become in an expert in all.
That is precisely Chetan Bhagat’s problem. Writing fiction, which he
does well, is far removed from delving in facts and reality. While in
fiction, the only limits are your own imagination, the latter requires
attention and analysis of hard boiled facts which is not everyone’s
cup of tea. OROP can never be analysed with the ‘heart’, and it never
was; so let us desist from throwing red herrings into a smouldering
pot.
Let me kill this point first. Whoever has spread this canard that the
Army is asking for OROP because it ‘guards the borders and so it
should get what it wants’, has reached the nadir of thought. Nobody is
asking you to follow the ‘Army good, politician bad’ argument. It is
invention of an empty mind and just goes to show that the concept of
OROP has not been understood at all. Please recall the manner in which
the defence forces have been short changed from independence to now,
not only in finances, but in stature; and then say what you have to.
Then also, sit and compare the NFUs and self fattening doles of the
bureaucracy, not to mention the perfidious insertions in the CPCs
recommendations; before making any such insinuations.
The second point is about the BSF and others who also guard the
borders. We have no issue with them, as they are sister organizations.
But this comparison must cease forever, because apart from the
retirement age, there is a major factor which sets the armed forces
apart. The Armed forces can take over their role, but they can never
take over the role of the armed forces.
Also if there is a desire to give the OROP to paramilitary forces and
police, for some unfathomable reason, please do so. We are not in
competition with them. Or give us the same conditions of service as
the PMF, where the defence soldier also retires at sixty. Let an
ageing Army handle your country and see if it passes muster in the
National Security Council.
Then there are two points that appear innocuously inserted in the
article but have far reaching consequences. The first is this stuff
about ‘whether to pay the veterans more to pay the new hires more’.
This actually presupposes that a person in service will continue to
serve in perpetuity and never retire. A serving soldier of today is a
veteran of tomorrow; so what is applicable to the veteran of today is
applicable to serving as well, albeit with a time delay.
And to ask whether to pay the officer more or the jawan more smacks of
a mischievous intent. Everyone knows that the pay scales are on a
sliding scale of rank, so relationship between these cannot be
divorced from each other. Is there an intent to drive a wedge between
the soldier and the officer class? The results will be disastrous,
even if it remotely comes to someone’s mind. The subject is best left
at that.
The next is that the Army ‘intrinsically believes in the concept of
rank and even allows one to keep it after retirement’. Let me give you
a back ground to the Army ranks. Military ranks like ‘Colonel’ etc are
authorised military titles as mentioned in the Article 18 of our
constitution. These military titles are unique and have been given an
exceptional status in the Constitution which says ‘Abolition of
titles. No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall
be conferred by the State.’
And here is the reason for it. Commissioned officers are given these
titles because in exceptional circumstances they are delegated certain
judicial, executive, and operational powers which in normal course is
vested with the President. These are:-
(
a) Confirmation and execution of death sentences in times of
war without any reference to the president for all accused so
sentenced under military law.
(
b) Establishing government in occupied and captured
territories where the authority of constitution of India does not
exist.
(
c) Govern the areas under martial law where the writ of the
civil government has ceased to run.
(
d) Provide leadership and mange wars in a physical space
falling outside of the jurisdiction of Indian Constitution.
The last point is about the financial effect and affordability by the
government. There is a mention of ‘many sectors don’t even have
pensions’. Yes they don’t. Because they have a eight hour job. They
have overtime. They retire at 60. They sleep at home. They don’t have
field areas. Their service conditions are friendly. It is an endless
list. Pension is a security that, if you give your youth to the
nation, the latter will look after you in your ageing years. Don’t ask
this question from the defence forces; ask this to those who
ironically are having the best of two worlds.
Then let me go back in history. I am sure that all are familiar with
the fact that at the time of independence, the then honourable PM Shri
Nehru appealed to the military to accept reduction in their
compensation including pension, as poor Government of India couldn’t
pay them that high salary with their stressed revenue collections.
Military accepted the reduction showing true commitment to democracy,
freedom and national development. But somehow the campaign of
reduction of comparative compensation packages to military, which
started as one time measure, is still continuing as a practice.
It will be out of place to recount the kind of government expenses
that are taking place and how little this amount of OROP is in terms
of percentage; especially when it amounts to paying dues that should
not have been taken away in the first place.
And I end, in good humour, requesting everyone not to fire these
skewed arrows at us. If there is a problem, we are open to debate,
provided it is one on one, and live on TV.
‘Tirchi nazron se naa maaro aashike dilgeer ko,
Kaise teer andaaz ho, seedha to karlo teer ko’
( Don’t shoot obliquely from a position of advantage. At least have
the confidence to confront head on )
AS a Chinese term, Aksai Chin is a misnomer. The Uyghur Turks refer to China as Xittay or Tabghach, and not as ‘Chin’. In Uyghur, Aksai Chin means ‘the white ravine’ — ‘Ak’ (white), ‘Sai’ (ravine) and Chin (real). Most of the places here have Hor(Uyghur)-Ladakhi names and not Sino-Tibetan ones.
By 1892, the Indian guards had been withdrawn. China occupied the Karakash valley, knocked down the Maharaja’s fort and built a new one at Suget Karaul.
Ladakh’s frontiers once touched the Kunlun range and bordered the ancient Buddhist Saka Kingdom of Khotan-Gaustana, known to native Ladakhis as Ling-yul, where Indians from Taxila, Gandhara and Kashmir settled in the first century BC. The Scythians ruled the area until Khotan fell to the Chinese and Kashmir to Kanishka.
Central Asian ruler Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat ruled Khotan until Gazi Sultan Syed Khan of Kashgharia established the Yarkand Khanate in 1510.
For a long period of time, Shahidulla in the Karakash ‘Black Jade’ river valley was the gateway to the region. It became a pivotal point for Kashmir, British, Russian and Chinese empires during the Great Game.
Sumgal — ‘three fords’ in Ladakhi — is another oasis in Karakash between the Hindu-tash mountain and Aksai Chin plains. Formerly known as Kangxiwar, it is the base route from Karakash to Khotan. Kyrgyz nomads paid taxes to Yarkand, but they faced periodic raids from the Kanjutis of Hunza, who controlled the Raskam Valley.
Kashmir’s sovereignty extended up to the Hindu-tash in the mid-19th century, when Maharaja Ranbir Singh ordered the building of a fort on a bluff at Shahidulla in 1864 to prevent the spillover of unrest when Yakub Beg was driven out by the Chinese from Khotan.
A small Dogra detachment guarded the fort till 1866, when it was abandoned due to its distant location. Kokandi troops held the fort before the Chinese demolished it in the 1890s.
Remarkably, in the midst of the Great Game, British surveyor WH Johnson travelled to Khotan in 1865 to establish a forward line to thwart Russian entry into the subcontinent. Johnson fixed a point — Brinjga — as India’s boundary in the Kunlun, opposite Karanghu Tagh of Ladakh. The Chinese Yangi Langar post fell deep inside Khotanese territory. A broad slice of territory along the Kunlun range, on which Kilian and Sanju passes are located, depicted India’s northernmost boundary line. Thus, the entire Karakash valley was ascribed to be part of Kashmir.
The Ladakh-Khotan frontiers drawn by Johnson then ran eastward of Kunlun for 100 miles and took a circuitous alignment beyond the Kunlun before taking a south-easterly direction to include Aksai Chin to join the Lingzi-Thang plains of Ladakh.
Apart from the defence of Kashmir, Johnson was possibly prompted to draw the alignment for several reasons: First, Shahidulla formed a vital tract junction between the Karakoram and Kunlun ranges through which Uyghur, Indian and Tibetan caravans traversed; second, Karakash had a strong Indian Buddhist imprint since ancient times; third, the Uyghur tribes historically recognised Hindu-tagh or Hindu-tash to be the traditional frontier with India; fourth, the entire Karakash valley with its waters could have been easily brought under cultivation by farmers of Nubra and Changthang; fifth, settling the population in the valley would have been another consideration, though the area was prone to attacks by Kanjuti robbers; sixth, Yaqub Beg himself regarded the Kunlun range to be the limit of Kashgharia.
British India, however, dismissed the Maharaja’s claim to Shahidulla with an offhand attempt to romanticise it with cartography. Even before ties could be established with Kashgharia, Yaqub Beg died in 1877 and the Chinese quickly re-annexed it, renaming it Xinjiang.
The Ladakh-Turkistan boundary remained undecided. From George Hayward, Douglas Forsyth and Ney Elias to HL Ramsay, British officials torpedoed Johnson’s plan and accepted Shahidulla falling within Beg’s jurisdiction; they regarded Ak-tagh in the Karakoram range to be India’s natural boundary.
They practically showed no interest in holding on to the passes north of the Karakoram; instead, they recommended against any implicit endorsement of the Karakash valley as a claim line, and advised: (a) to consider Indus water-parting (watershed) to become a simplified frontier on geographical and ethnological grounds; and (b) to influence the Chinese to claim the territories under the Tarim drainage system.
What’s more, British Army officer Francis Younghusband suggested to Sir Mortimer Durand in 1889 that the Kunlun mountains belonged to China and the Chinese could be encouraged to fill up the gaps (no-man’s territory) in the south to serve as a buffer zone. Younghusband succeeded in persuading the Chinese during his second 1890 mission to Yarkand. Before John Ardagh, Director of Military Intelligence, could respond, the Chinese occupied Shahidulla in 1890.
Viceroy Lord Lansdowne finally sealed the fate of the Johnson Line when he said that as Shahidulla was of no value, unlikely to be coveted by Russia, the Chinese should be encouraged to take it if they wish to do so. The logic was that “the stronger China holds her own over the region, the more useful will she be to us as an obstacle to Russian advance along this line.”
To this, Lord Cross suggested in the Whitehall that “the wisest course would be to leave the other side of the natural barrier in the Chinese possession as it is evidently to our advantage that the tract of territory between the Karakoram and Kunlun mountains definitely be held by a friendly power like China.”
The British Resident in Kashmir was informed to “regard the limit of the Indus watershed as the boundary of Kashmir”. This was how the British messed up the Ladakh boundary demarcation. The Chinese were then faced with Russia’s thrust in Central Asia as they were also too weak until the 1950s to control the Kunlun and Karakoram ranges.
By 1892, the Indian guards had been withdrawn; China quickly occupied the Karakash valley, knocked down the Maharaja’s fort, and built a new one at Suget Karaul near Suget Pass. Chinese forays into the south of the Karakoram and Aksai Chin have not stopped since then.
We need to build a more Ladakhi and Uyghur narrative on Aksai China by way of invoking Maharaja Ranbir Singh, Wazir-e-Wazarat of Ladakh, William Johnson and Atalik Ghazi Yaqub Beg of Kashgharia.
DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh’s assertion that the Indo-Pacific has grown from being a maritime to a full-fledged geo-strategic construct underscores the importance India attaches to the region. His comments at the 13th Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (IPACC) indicate New Delhi’s push for a multipolar approach. India does not want to be seen as a minor player amid the China-US rivalry. Rajnath Singh has called for collective efforts to deal with the complexities of the Indo-Pacific. A biennial event to boost military collaboration, the conference’s focus is on promoting peace and stability in the region. Even with its absence, China looms large. Its territorial claims over islands in the East China and South China seas have rattled its neighbours as well as the US.
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande has discounted construing the IPACC as a military alliance or an initiative against any country. At the same time, in a veiled reference to China, he said while countries are working toward a free and open Indo-Pacific, they are witnessing manifestations of inter-state contestations. Amid rising global concerns over Chinese influence, India’s position is centred on a stable Indo-Pacific, where the sovereignty of all nations must be respected. The region is critical to global shipping channels and the ocean economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach in the Pacific points to the fact that India is seeking its own pockets of influence.
According to US army chief Gen Randy George, the fact that its troops exercise in the Pacific more than anywhere else highlights American priorities. He also affirmed the strength of the partnership with the Indian Army. India’s diplomatic row with Canada need not have any bearing on military ties. The strength of the alliance, though, will be tested. New Delhi’s eyes would be firmly fixed on Washington’s moves.
Ranchi, September 28
Two CRPF personnel were seriously injured in an IED blast in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Thursday and one of them died later in the course of treatment, police said.
The two CRPF personnel belonging to its elite Cobra battalion were grievously injured in the blast near a forest between Tumbahaka and Sarjomburu villages in Tonto police station area of district during a combing operation against the Maoists by security forces, the police said.
CRPF constable Rajesh Kumar and Inspector Bhupendra Kumar were airlifted to Ranchi for treatment, IG Police Operations Amol V Homkar told PTI.
“Rajesh Kumar of 209 Cobra battalion succumbed to his injuries. The martyred personnel hailed from Chattisgarh,” he said.
Bhupendra Kumar is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ranchi, the IG said.
Homkar said the blast occurred around 11-12 pm on Thursday when the Maoists detonated an IED targeting the Cobra battalion as the security forces personnel pressed forward in its operation against the left wing extremists.
Search and combing operations are still on in the area by the security forces.
Apart from CRPF’s Cobra’s 209 battalion, Jharkhand Jaguar of the state police and district armed police were involved in the combing operation against the Maoists in the Kolhan region of the state, the police said.
Several members of security forces were injured in the past few months in such incidents. In August two personnel of the Jharkhand Jaguar Force were killed in a gunfight with Maoists in the same area.
Nine Maoists were gunned down by security forces in 16 encounters in the state so far in 2023, while another 236 were arrested including a central committee member and area commanders till July this year.
Jammu, September 27
An Army jawan was injured in a landmine blast along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Wednesday, officials said.
The incident took place in the Nowsehera forward area when Naik Dheeraj Kumar accidentally stepped on the anti-personnel mine during patrolling, they said.
Kumar, the officials said, was airlifted to the Command Hospital in Udhampur for treatment.
New Delhi, September 28
Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal, who has expertise in handling terror-related cases, has been “prematurely” repatriated to the Manipur cadre where a fresh bout of violence has worsened the already tense situation.
The 2012-batch IPS officer, who was shifted to Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre in December 2021, will be assigned a new posting in Manipur upon his joining in the state, which has been witnessing clashes between the majority Meitei and the tribal Kuki communities since May this year.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for premature repatriation of Rakesh Balwal, IPS, from AGMUT cadre to Manipur cadre,” an official order said.
Balwal, who is a resident of Udhampur in the Jammu region, has served in the Manipur Police in various capacities, with the last being Senior Superintendent of Police, Churachandpur in 2017. He has served in the Thobal and Imphal areas as well.
He took over as SSP Srinagar at a time when the city was witnessing a lot of terror activities, including the killing of members of the minority and attacks on policemen.
After taking over, Balwal focused on improving the law-and-order situation within the city, ensuring that the presence of terrorists was reduced to near zero and maintaining that no attacks were carried out either on minorities or security forces.
It was during his tenure that Muharram procession was allowed on the roads after three decades and public participation in the Independence Day functions was allowed this year. International events like hosting the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting were conducted peacefully during his tenure as the city police chief.
Balwal was awarded the Union Home Minister’s medal for investigation, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and a disc from the Director-General of CRPF. It was during his tenure that Miwaiz Umer Farooq was released from house detention recently and allowed to hold Friday prayers at the historical Jama Masjid after more than four years.
Before taking charge as Srinagar SSP, Balwal was on deputation with the NIA for three-and-half years as superintendent of police and was a member of the team that investigated the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives.
On June 1, Rajiv Singh, a 1993-batch IPS officer of the Tripura cadre, was appointed as Manipur’s new director general of police.
More than 180 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
A fresh bout of violence, this time led by students, broke out in the state capital on Tuesday after photos of the bodies of two youths who went missing in July went viral on social media.
Violent protests continued till the early hours of Thursday with a mob vandalising the deputy commissioner’s office in Imphal West and torching two four-wheelers, officials said.
On Wednesday night, the protesters clashed with security personnel in Uripok, Yaiskul, Sagolband and Tera areas, prompting the forces to fire several rounds of tear gas shells to control the situation, they said.
