Indian Army on Wednesday carried out a massive campaign in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir to check the misuse of combat dress. This campaign is necessitated because some terrorists killed recently were wearing combat dresses to dodge the security forces.
"The main reason for conceptualizing such a campaign is the cause of security concern arising out of the uncontrolled proliferation of existing combat uniforms," the Udhampur-based spokesman of the Northern Command said.
"The sale of Indian Army uniforms in the open market affords easy availability of the uniform to anybody desiring for the same, hence, pose vulnerabilities for the security of military establishments and personnel," the defence spokesperson said.
Tough action against violators of rules
The Indian Army has chalked out plans to take tough action against the dealers who are selling unauthorized but almost similar-looking patterns and fabric uniforms. Once the intellectual property rights process is completed, the Army will be able to take legal action and subsequently prosecute the unauthorized shopkeepers selling the combat dress material.
The defence spokesperson said that with the unveiling of the new combat dress in January this year, the Indian Army had established ownership of the pattern and design and had applied to the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks. Now the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) processes are expected soon.
Local police also involved in checking the illegal sale of combat dress
Corps of Military Police in coordination with local police and market associations carried out the campaign for sensitizing the shopkeepers. The purpose of this intervention is to dissuade the shopkeepers from selling unauthorized combat uniforms in the interest of national security. Shopkeepers have shown a positive response and agreed to cooperate with Army authorities for the cause.
Terrorists involved in Darhal's suicide attack were wearing combat dress
Two Pakistani terrorists, involved in a pre-dawn suicide attack on an Army formation in Pargal village in the Darhal area of Rajouri district, were wearing Army's combat dress. Five soldiers lost their lives in the attack.
As reported earlier, two terrorists attacked an Army camp at village Pargal, about nine kilometres from Darhal, in Rajouri district of Jammu region on August 11, killing five soldiers including a Subedar, and wounding two others, one of them a Major, before being eliminated by the troops in a four-hour long gun battle.
