I won’t allow collateral damage in Valley, says Army chief with a bullet

To put across his point forcefully, Singh asked two rows of jawans to move and create a narrow gap. He then asked for few glass tumblers to be put on a table in the shape of a pyramid against the wall and placed a small piece of white paper in the middle of it. Eyewitnesses say that there was pin-drop silence in the room as the jawans and officers watched the General arrange a target and walk to his position, rows of jawans watching on either side.

‘‘Nobody knew what was in his mind,’’ an officer said. ‘‘He (Gen J J Singh) then took a rifle and aimed at this less-than 3/3-inch piece of paper,’’ he said. ‘‘And within seconds, he hit bang on the target.’’

The hall resonated with applause even as many must have thanked their luck that the General didn’t miss his target. And according to the eyewitness, Singh came up with the message behind this demonstration.

‘‘If I can fire with such a precision at this age, every trained soldier should as well,’’ Singh told the gathering. ‘‘Our soldiers are trained and accountable. So while you are ruthless with the militants who are not accountable to anybody, you have to fire accurately. There should be no harm done to civilians and there should be no collateral damage.’’

When asked about the incident, Gen Singh told The Indian Express: ‘‘I believe in leadership by example. As officers, we should be role models for our men, and shooting skills are the bread and butter for Armymen.’’

The eyewitness said that Singh also stressed that he doesn’t want to hear people (in Kashmir) to say that they are caught between the two (militants and the Army). ‘‘Nobody should compare an army man with the militants. You should behave properly, which will exhibit that the soldiers are trained and accountable,’’ Singh then told the jawans and officers.

Meanwhile, General Singh is also said to have asked the troops to be physically fit and make sure that nobody has a protruded belly.

(with Shiv Aroor)