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This is an archive article published on July 20, 1999

Probe ordered into shooting of Army personnel

NEW DELHI, JULY 19: A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident at Akhnoor in Jammu region in which a Border Security Force (...

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NEW DELHI, JULY 19: A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident at Akhnoor in Jammu region in which a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan shot dead three Army personnel and wounded another mistaking them to be intruders on July 17, Army sources said today.

The sources said the inquiry would be headed by a Brigadier.

Refuting the BSF argument that it was a case of mistaken identity and the Army patrol to which the jawans belonged had not informed the BSF in advance, the sources said it was highly improbable that the BSF party was not aware of the Army patrol. “Either the BSF personnel were lazy or were feeling sleepy.”

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The incident occured at 2 am on July 17 at a naka post in Akhnoor when a BSF jawan opened fire at an Army patrol of the 5 Rajput Regiment, killing a captain and two other personnel and wounding another. A BSF official here said Army personnel were mistaken for infiltrators. The BSF jawans challenged them, but not receiving any response opened fire, killing the three on the spot.

The sources said that as per rules, one company of the BSF is attached to every Army battalion. The overall control, however, is in the hands of the Army. A BSF official is also with the Army patrol party and any such movement is known to the BSF. “Therefore, there is no question that it was a case of mistaken identity.”

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