CHANDIGARH: The army on Wednesday justified the use of placards during flag marches in Rohtak — the epicentre of the Jat agitation.
“Normally, army columns responding to such situations carry out flag marches in army vehicles. In this case, due to blockades on approach roads to Rohtak, the troops had to be airlifted to Rohtak town,” said the Western Command in a release.
“Since the columns were without integral transport, civil vehicles were to be provided by the district administration. The placards were initially displayed with a view to clearly distinguish the army columns in these civil vehicles. Since the situation demanded immediate response and civil services were not readily available, the army columns carried out a flag march on foot,” it added.
“The placards were to distinguish these columns from those of the paramilitary forces. The presence of army columns provided reassurance to the common citizens,” the statement said.
RAF fired shots, not us: Army on Sonepat flashpoint where 4 died
NO USE OF FORCE
Says it followed the policy of maximum restraint and minimum force
SONEPAT/PANIPAT: The army on Wednesday claimed that not its personnel but those from the paramilitary Rapid Action Force (RAF) had opened fire in Sonepat, including Larhsoli village, where four people got killed during the Jats’ stir for quota.
HT PHOTOMajor HS Cheema explaining how army personnel rescued people near Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba in Sonepat from vandals during the Jat quota agitation, on Wednesday.Denying media reports about army firing, Col BK Panda, entrusted with the job of securing Sonepat, said that it was the RAF that “compelled to fire”. He also denied the reports of women being ‘violated’ or raped by miscreants.
It was on February 22 that about 1,500 protesters had gathered at Larhsoli on the SonepatDelhi leg of National Highway-1 and started pelting the army personnel, police and RAF with stones. “A petrol bomb was thrown at us too… At that time, we were just 100 people along with the RAF and police,” added Maj HS Cheema. An announcement was made that if they did not disperse they would be fired at. “The deputy commissioner was speaking to them and made them sit peacefully. When an army column started marching ahead, they again threw stones and hurled abuses. Countrymade pistols were flashed too,” added Maj Cheema. He said that to disperse the crowd the RAF fired, which resulted in the deaths.
“We did not fire a single shot across Sonepat. We followed the policy of maximum restraint and minimum force. The mob had all kinds of elements. At Larhsoli, it was outsiders who threw stones. The dead were soon cremated too,” said Col Panda.
Another flashpoint at Sonepat was close to the popular Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba, where on the night of February 21 a mob vandalised about 20 cars and some families were hiding in the fields. The army reached around 3am and gathered about 40 families, accommodating them at the dhaba. “Later, buses of civil administration came and evacuated them,” Maj Cheema added.
The army officers denied any women making complaints of being molested or raped. “Both the men and women were shocked. But they did not make any such complaints,” said Maj Cheema.
Col Rakesh Kumar, entrusted with the job of securing Panipat, said the force faced stone-pelting during the flag march in Panipat. “Five boys were nabbed and handed over to the police,” he told HT, and added that, during the 36-hour blockade on the Panipat-Delhi highway, near Rajiv Gandhi Khel Parisar, where over 5,000 protestors were sitting, the army found a truckload of stones.
The protesters were armed with country-made pistols and swords, he added.
Burnt schools in Rohtak worry of preparations ahead of board exams
REDUCED TO ASHES
Buses, vans, offices, computer lab, computers and CCTV cameras were torched
WITH BOARD EXAMS ROUND THE CORNER, SCHOOLS ARE WORRIED HOW THEY ARE GOING TO ACCOMMODATE STUDENTS
ROHTAK: Black soot hangs thick in place of blackboards inside half-a-dozen schools, a grim reminder of the violence and arson during the Jat stir for reservation in education and jobs.
Some the extensively damaged schools, where students are to write their high school board exams, cannot say how they will get things ready for the test as well as prepare simultaneously for the next academic session.
Sagar Bajaj, a 21-year-old former student of Pathania Public School, one of the oldest and most popular institutes in Rohtak, couldn’t arrest his emotions on Wednesday when he saw his alma mater reduced to ashes.
“I came here to make sure things were okay. I don’t think I have the strength to go inside,” he said.
At Shiksha Bharti School on Gohana Road, the mob burnt down classrooms, offices, auditoriums and labs. Besides, nine school buses and two vans were set ablaze.
Principal Sanjay Soni said records of more than 850 students were perhaps lost. His school is one of the centres for the board exam. Soni said he would do everything to ensure students write their exams peacefully and comfortably.
“It is unfortunate to see a school which gave our country soldiers like Kirti Chakra winner Captain Deepak Sharma in such a condition.”
For Varsha Pathania, principal of Pathania Public School, the arson was a double shock because she had lost her husband in December.
Besides burning nine buses, the mob torched offices, smart boards, computer lab and student records. CCTV cameras and computers where the footage is stored are damaged too.
Kishore Chawla, the director general of Shri Ram Global School on Gohana Road, saw his dreams shatter before his eyes. The newly-furnished building was attacked by around 3,000 people. “Everything was prepared … 31 teachers were hired. Equipment were bought. But we are afraid this building would collapse anytime now,” Chawla said.
Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu’s Indus Public School also became a victim of politics as a mob ravaged. Its modern state-of-the art furniture, including the air-conditioned auditorium and spacious library containing more than 12,000 books, now look black as the mob set the school ablaze and damaged the building.