Indian Army sources on Sunday, December 24, quashed rumours that the bodies of four of its personnel — one Major and three soldiers who were killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir — had been mutilated.
The deceased had been identified as Major Moharkar Prafulla Ambadas, Lance Naik Gurmail Singh, Sepoy Pargat Singh and Sepoy Gurmeet Singh.
An NDTV report had said the Indian Army personnel had been mutilated by the Border Action Teams (BATs) of Pakistan, which had infiltrated nearly half a kilometre into Indian territory after killing the soldiers on Saturday, December 23.
Reports of mutilation
Mutilation of soldiers is a violation of the Geneva convention. Therefore, there was some outrage when an NDTV report said: " An officer of the Indian Army and three soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team or BAT in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday, army sources told NDTV."
It added: "Pakistan troops infiltrated almost 400 metres across the Line of Control to target Indian Army soldiers, sources said."
The report also said: "Pakistan Border Action Teams usually comprise members of the special forces of the Pakistan Army and some terrorists. They have known to intrude into India to target Indian soldiers patrolling along the border."
Indian Army refutes rumours
There have been previous instances when Indian Army soldiers' bodies were mutilated. However, this time the Army denied that any mutilation had taken place.
A report in the Hindu quoted a senior officer in the Indian Army as saying: "There has been no mutilation of bodies. The injuries suffered were due to splinters and gunshot wounds sustained due to firing by the enemy on the patrol."
The report also claimed that the Army had said in a statement it had replied to the ceasefire violation "strongly and effectively."
