Akshay Kapoor wrote:I am surprised that no one has picked up on the news that JKP has filed FIRs with names against soldiers and one officer for 10 Garhwal under pressure from Mehbooba Mufti. They were on the way in a convoy, one section of convoy lost the way and entered a village where they were attacked and had to fire in self defence as a last resort. I think 3 civilans died and Mehbooba Mufti is calling the army 'black sheep'. What were they supposed to do - surrender their arms and get killed so MM could win the next election ?
No one missed that IMO.
Let me state my view on this. Obviously the army did the right thing. But Mehbooba Mufti (and BJP) are playing a (good) political game here. Technically in civilian life if someone gets hurt the action that needs to be taken is to report it to the police and file a FIR. From the viewpoint of the people who threw stones and representatives of those who got killed the dead people were "shot by someone in Army uniform". They are allowed to tell lies in the FIR and claim that they were simply singing "Kumbaya my love" in their village when army came and shot them all down. An obvious lie but this is the way people file FIRs - especially criminal mofo. Telling the truth is for the army and dharmic people.
Filing the FIR sets off a legal process. In the meantime - the Army too can respond to the FIR and state its side of the story. The entire episode will go through the convoluted legal process. Remember that once an issue like this becomes "sub-judice" the presstitute press and opposition parties cannot go overboard in their accusations. An event has occurred. Two parties are involved. One party has done the right thing - that is instead of starting riots they have reported it to the police. This does not mean that the Army did not do the right thing. It only means that the "wheels of justuce will be st in motion" and political advantage becomes more difficult.
Before I finish let me speculate on what might have happened (and what used to happen) when this sort of "recourse to legal action" is/was not taken.
Army passes through village. Soldiers stoned - many hurt - mob gets threatening - army sorts them out when restraint is no longer possible leaving a few pig carcasses. The matter then becomes a political issue. The separatists say "We do not trust the army or the police". We will instaed have a bandh and resort to violence. Whoever handles that violence will be provoked - leading to firing and more deaths - increasing anger.
So the exact correct thing to do is to follow the law of the land.
1. Army does what it has to do
2. Civilians - if aggrieved must not riot or go apeshit. They need top follow a legal process and file an FIR and let the law take its course.
I must add the perspective of a doctor - who is also a professional doing his duty. This is about India - not any other country
In the early 1990s and before that - every now and again when a patient died the patients relatives would agitate, blame the doctor and and riot, and also involve the police. Many a time the poor helpless doctor who had done nothing more than his duty was handcuffed and taken into custody by the police. This has happened to people I know. When this got out of hand doctors had to agitate and have the law changed. Now in case of a death - the police can be informed (as often happens, and happened to me personally even in the absence of death). But the police are not empowered to arrest the doctor. They have to impound the medical case records that are then forwarded to the medical council for initial investigation
So filing an FIR is no big deal - and thankfully for doctors the possibility of arrest when some drunk goonda dies because he inhaled his vomit no longer happens. In the case of the army -the police cannot arrest the army. The case will be dealt with by whatever mechanisms exist