News Analysis India

Tag: Indian Army

  • Three terrorists of Lashkar shadow group shot dead; toll this year crosses 100

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR:  A day after the police gunned down the chief and the deputy chief of The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, three more terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Sopore in north Kashmir on Tuesday. Tuesday’s encounter took the number of terrorists killed this year to over 100.

    A police official said a joint contingent of police, CRPF and army laid siege to Pethseer area at Sopore in Baramulla district last evening after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists.  

    “After plugging all possible escape routes, troops zeroed-in on the terrorists’ location and asked them to surrender. They turned down the offer and fired towards the search party. The fire was returned, triggering an encounter,” he said.

    The official, however, said due to darkness, the operation was suspended but the cordon was tightened.

    “In the wee hours, the final assault was launched on terrorists and in the ensuing gunfight, which continued till afternoon, three TRF terrorists were killed,” he said.

    Of the three slain terrorists, two hailed from Shopian in south Kashmir and one from Kupwara. Police said an AK-47 rifle and two pistols were recovered from the encounter site.

    Meanwhile, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said with the death of the three terrorists on Tuesday, over 100 terrorists have been killed in different encounters by security forces in Kashmir in 2021 so far.

    He said anti-militancy operations would continue but reiterated his appeal to the local terrorists to shun the path of violence and return to the mainstream.  

    “Police is committed to accepting them with open arms as society needs them the most, especially their parents,” added the IGP.

  • In a first, hand grenades made by private firm delivered to Indian Army

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL), a Nagpur-based private company, on Tuesday handed over the first batch of one lakh indigenously manufactured modern hand grenades to the Indian Army in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

    The consignment of multi-mode hand grenades (MMHG) was handed over to the Army at a function here, a defence release said.

    This is the first instance of ammunition being manufactured by the private industry in India, the release said.

    EEL, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Solar Industries India Ltd, commenced deliveries of modern hand grenades to the armed forces last month.

    The first consignment of 1 lakh MMHG had been tested satisfactorily for quality by users and delivered, the release said.

    Singh was handed over a scale replica of MMHG by chairman of EEL S N Nuwal to mark the first delivery of ammunition from the private sector to the armed forces, it said.

    Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane, Chairman of DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy and Infantry DG Lt Gen AK Samantra were present on the occasion.

    EEL had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on October 1, 2020, to supply 10 lakh modern hand grenades for use by the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), the release said.

    The deliveries would be spread over two years from the bulk production clearance (BPC) which was accorded to EEL in March 2021, it said.

    “These new grenades will replace Grenade No 36 of World War I vintage design, which had been continuing in service till date. The MMHGs have a distinctive design giving flexibility of employment in both defensive (fragmentation) and offensive (stun) modes.”

    “They have highly accurate delay time, very high reliability in usage and are safe for carriage. These modern grenades were designed by Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory of DRDO,” the release said.

    EEL had taken the technology from DRDO in 2016.

    Extensive trials of the grenades were successfully undertaken by the Indian Army and DGQA (Directorate General Of Quality Assurance) in 2017-18 in plains, deserts and high altitude over summer and winter, the release said.

    Against a General Staff Qualitative Requirement (GSQR) of 95 per cent reliability, the grenades manufactured by EEL had highly superior reliability of 99.8 per cent, it added.

    The success of the MMHG story is further amplified by its usage of 100 per cent indigenous content, the release added.

  • Terrorist hideout busted in J-K’s Bandipora; arms, ammunition recovered

    By ANI

    BANDIPORA: Indian Army’s 26 Assam Rifles on Tuesday busted a terrorist hideout and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from Nagmarg forest in Bandipora district of North Kashmir.

    As per a statement released by the Army, acting on a specific tip-off about the presence of a terrorist hideout, an operation was launched by 26 Assam Rifles in the Nagmarg forest.

    During the search operation, a large number of arms and ammunition were recovered from the hideout which includes 10 Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) grenades, two Chinese grenades, and other incriminating material.

    “This has averted a major tragedy and recovery will be beneficial in ensuring and maintaining peace in the area,” said an Army official. 

  • Army felicitates group of Kashmiris rescued from clutches of terror group 23 years ago

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: In a gesture sending a reassuring message to youth who have joined various terror groups in the Kashmir Valley, the Indian Army on Monday celebrated the homecoming of a group of youths who were rescued before they could be taken across the Line of Control to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to get trained in violence and come back to join a terrorist group 23 years ago. Nineteen of the 23 youths attended the programme.

    The Indian Army said, “On 23 Aug 1998, 23 young boys, mostly juveniles from Ganderbal district, were lured and coerced by local terrorists to join terrorist ranks. Most of them were from extremely humble backgrounds with no ability to sustain the pressures by the nexus network.”

    To commemorate this day, an event on Tuesday was organised at Manasbal lake, which was attended by the rescued individuals, along with their families.

    Recalling the incident, the Army said, “Over a period of 10 days from August 4-14 1998, Bambar Khan, with the help of local over ground workers, had collected these 23 young boys, all below 18 years of age, either by force or through radicalization and had kept them in the dense jungles of Ajas.” Thereafter, the group moved across the Shamsha Bari range into Gurez Tulail Valley, with the aim of going across the LoC, into POK.

    ALSO READ: Army to sponsor education for youth of J&K and Ladakh in schools and institutions run by them

    “These young boys were being compelled into a path of militancy through false promises by a fellow Kashmiri Bambar Khan, a resident of Ganderbal, into joining terrorist tanzeems and were being taken to POK,” said the Army.

    For more than a fortnight, they were brutally tortured, blindfolded and kept inside a forested area without food and water. Yet, they had the will and deep desire for a free and dignified life. Finally, the Army learnt about it and rescued them.

    They were to be trained in terrorist activities and thereafter reinfiltrate back into Kashmir and indulge in terror acts, at the behest of the masterminds in Pakistan.

    On August 23, 1998, the group of 23 young Kashmiri boys was apprehended, while attempting to cross the LoC. Information was received by the Brigade Headquarters that a large number of youths were seen in the jungles near the Kishenganga River.

    An operation was launched. It was led by (then Captain) and now Brigadier Budhwar. This group of youths was sighted in the lower reaches of the forest.

    As per the Army, “The soldiers held fire, as the terrorists accompanying these youths had run away taking cover of the thick foliage and vegetation. These young boys, on seeing the Indian Army soldiers, shouted for help and immediately surrendered.”

    The troops quickly took control of the situation and helped them to cross the river, which was in spate and escorted them to Gurez, where they were medically examined and given food, water and warm beds to sleep. Thereafter they were brought to HQ 15 Corps in BB Cantt and reunited with their parents.

    The rescued boys are now leading normal, happy lives. They are married and have families of their own. A few of them also joined government jobs.

    Lieutenant General YK Joshi, Army Commander, Northern Command, felicitated the rescued individuals and interacted with their family members.

    Speaking on the occasion, the Army Commander said that youth on the path of terrorism will be given a second chance to come back and integrate with their families and join the mainstream and lead a normal life, like these individuals had done two decades back.

    He also reiterated that parents have an important role to play in ensuring that their children do not follow the path of violence, which only brings pain and misery, not only for the ones who join terrorism, but also their immediate and extended families. He said the Army is steadfast in its resolve of ethical conduct and ensuring full support to those who want to leave the path of violence.

    Lieutenant General DP Pandey, GOC Chinar Corps, and other senior civil and military officials also attended the function.

  • One Army personnel dies, others suffer injuries while training under ‘severe’ weather near Pathankot

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: One Army personnel died and a few others were injured during a supervised training activity at Mamun military station near Pathankot in Punjab on Saturday as the weather conditions were “severe”.

    In a statement, the Indian Army said that the “affected” personnel have been admitted at the military hospital in Pathankot and are being provided with required medical care.

    The statement said, “In an organised, supervised and monitored training activity undertaken by 11 officers, 11 JCOs (junior commissioned officers) and 120 other ranks near Pathankot, due to severe weather conditions, there has been one fatal casualty.”

    “A few individuals including some officers/ JCOs have been admitted in Military Hospital, Pathankot,” it said.

    Army officials earlier said the weather was hot and humid when the training activity was taking place.

  • Karnataka: Union Minister visits serving soldier’s house to offer condolences, embarrassed

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy visited the residence of a living soldier, instead of the one who had died, after apparently being mislead by local leaders, and announced a government job and land to his kin.

    The gaffe happened on Thursday, when the newly appointed Minister in the Modi government was in Gadag district, as part of his ‘Jan Ashirvad Yatra’.

    According to BJP sources, Narayanaswamy was taken to the house of Ravikumar Kattimani, who is currently posted in Jammu and Kashmir region, instead of taking him to the house of Basavaraj Hiremath, who died in Pune a year ago.

    As part of the Minister’s itinerary, he was scheduled to visit the dead soldier’s family and offer condolences to them.

    Sources said Narayanaswamy, who was behind the schedule when he reached the district’s Mulagund along with Member of Parliament Shivakumar Udasi, was taken to Kattimani’s residence, much to the surprise of family members.

    The Minister, who enquired the family members, announced that a government job would be given to one of them and also land, which left them in a state of “shock and confusion”.

    Later, a local BJP worker who knew about the family, made a video call to soldier Kattimani and asked the minister to speak to him directly, they said, adding that after realising the “blunder”, Narayanaswamy trying to control the damage praised the soldier’s service and felicitated the family members, before he left.

    After leaving the soldier’s residence, the Minister took local BJP leaders to task for embarrassing him, by providing wrong information, party sources added.

    “My husband is working in Kashmir, it has been two months since we got married. The Minister coming to our house and inquiring about us caused some confusion, but neighbors’ said he might be coming out of respect to soldiers serving in border areas. When he started assuring job and land, I felt some what and told him that- my husband is there and I will have to ask him”, Kattimani’s wife told local media.

    Noting that someone has given wrong information to the Minister, she said the family was relieved only after speaking to her husband.

    “It caused unnecessary tension to us and my husband there.”

    The Minister however did not visit the dead soldier Hiremath.

    “No one came to our house. He (Minister) is said to have gone to the house of a soldier who is alive. I only want my son back,” an emotional Hiremath’s mother said.

  • ‘Need to step up Kashmir outreach efforts amid rise of Taliban’: Ex-Army chief

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Former Army chief Gen Shankar Roychowdhury said the government needs to step up outreach in Kashmir and reassure people there that India will continue to be a secular democracy as the Taliban victory in Afghanistan is likely to see a renewed offensive by Pakistan-based militants.

    The retired General, who had commanded 16 corps in Kashmir at the height of militancy in that state in early 1990s, and became Army chief later in the same decade when Taliban last came to rule over Kabul, believes that Pakistan, re-enforced by the recent Taliban victory, “will make a fresh bid on Kashmir” using groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed.

    He also said that India needs to reach out to both former Afghan government forces rallying around Ahmad Massoud, son of the late legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, in Panjshir Valley, as well as to factions within the Taliban which are friendlier to India.

    “We have to step up our outreach to Kashmiris, we also have to re-assure them that India will continue to be a secular democracy,” General Roychowdhury who currently heads a strategic think tank Research Centre for Eastern and Northeastern Studies, told PTI in an interview.

    The central government had scrapped Article 370 and turned Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh into two separate union territories from being a single state, while placing most Kashmiri leaders under detention.

    Since then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to reach out and hold talks with Kashmir’s political leaders earlier this year.

    “We need to understand that the victory in Afghanistan is being seen (by terror groups) as a Pakistani victory and an Indian defeat”.

    “We have to organise ourselves for a renewed offensive by elements like the JeM,” said Gen Roychowdhury, a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 wars besides counter-insurgency operations within the country.

    “We have to be prepared for Pakistani intentions (covert operations) supported by radical elements here,” he added.

    During the period Taliban rode to power in the mid-1990s, India steadfastly refused to do business with the regime which it saw as brutal proxy for Pakistan’s military.

    It continued to support the remnants of the Afghan government and later the Northern Alliance, aiding them with training and supplies.

    The 1999 hijacking of Indian airlines’ jetliner to Kabul by four Pakistani terrorists, was made possible with the cooperation of the Taliban regime.

    India exchanged three top terrorists, who included Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of JeM, for passengers and crew of that aircraft.

    A study by French think-tank Centre d’ analyse du terrorisme (Centre for Analysis of Terrorism) published last week warned of the renewed possibility of “more operational coordination between Pakistan-supported groups like the Lashkar e Toiba and JeM (on the one hand) and the Taliban.”

    The former Army chief said, “We should try and help the son of Ahmad Shah Masood (guerrilla leader nicknamed Lion of Panjshir). The non-Pashtun minorities such as Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras have had good relations with us”.

    Taliban too has many factions and it should not be difficult to reach out to them.

    General Roychowdhury also said India’s role in Afghanistan needs to be to give training, relief materials and above all refuge to those who needed it.

    “People of Afghanistan remain our friends and we must be willing to give them refuge,” he said.

    However, at the same time, there is need to beef up security and create “fortress India” to safeguard against any militant operations against India.

    The former Army chief said talk of sending Indian troops to beef up US and allied troops in holding Afghanistan which had cropped up in the last two decades “was unwise as we (Indian Army) had no means to reinforce or supply them except by air and that route was fraught with grave danger.”

    He also warned that while Prime Minister Modi and Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina were on good terms, opposition forces in Bangladesh which included “the entire radical set-up” would be re-invigorated by the Taliban victory and “may not let this chance slip by.”

    There has been disquiet in India’s security community about the possibility of Jamaat-Ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh drawing upon released Bangladeshi Taliban fighters and increasing their activities in that country and in bordering Indian states.

    The retired general also said, “We need to reach out to like-minded people in this sub-continent to oppose the spread of the ideology associated with the Taliban.”

  • Rajnath Singh flags off Army’s fleet of five trauma care ambulances

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday flagged off from his residence here a fleet of five trauma care ambulances donated to the Army by a non-profit group for deployment in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The ambulances have been donated by Borderless World Foundation to the Chinar Corps, the Army’s strategic unit that guards the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

    BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, “The ambulances will be stationed in five sectors located along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and will be managed by the Indian Army.”

    They will be deployed at different locations in Gurez, Machil, Keran, Tangdhar and Uri sectors in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

    The Army will use them for critical care needed by its personnel as well as local residents, said Delhi BJP vice president Virendra Sachdeva, also the coordinator of the flag-off ceremony.

    Borderless World Foundation chairperson Adhik Kadam, Kotak Mahindra Bank president Raghavendra Singh and BJP leaders Shyam Jaju and Rajiv Kohli were also present on the occasion.

  • Supreme Court allows women to take NDA exam, slams Indian Army for ‘gender discrimination’

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday in an interim order has allowed women to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exam scheduled for September 5 and has also slammed the Indian Army for the decisions that are based on “gender discrimination”.

    A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Hrishikesh Roy ordered that female candidates can sit for the NDA exam on September 5 but the admissions will be subject to the outcome of the petition. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on September 8 and asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to advertise the court’s order widely.

    The top court slammed the government and Army for not allowing women to take part in NDA exams. As Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the government and Indian Army told the Bench that it’s a policy decision not to allow women to take the NDA exam, the Bench said that this policy decision is based on “gender discrimination”.

    “It’s a policy decision which is based on gender discrimination. We direct the Centre and Army to take a constructive view of the matter…,” the Bench said expressing displeasure on “regressive mindset”.

    As the ASG said there are three modes of entry in the Army- NDA, Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) and that women are permitted entry through OTA and IMA. To which the Bench asked why women’s entry is allowed only through two sources.

    “And even if it is a matter of policy, you are allowing women’s entry through two sources. Why should you say the one more additional source of entry is closed for women? It is not just a gender principle but discriminatory otherwise also,” it added.

    Don’t compel judicial intervention all the time, said the apex court while slamming the Indian Army for not giving opportunities to women.

    “How can you continue to plead the same thing… This has been my impression right from the High Court that till a judgment is passed, the Army doesn’t believe in doing anything voluntarily. It’s like Army will act only when judicial orders will be passed,” observed Justice Kaul.

    The Bench added, “It’s a question of mindset which is not changing. That’s why despite so many opportunities in the Supreme Court and High Court, we couldn’t persuade the government. Every time the order has come from the court, it has expanded the scope.”

    We are permitting the girls who have approached the court to sit for the NDA examination because we will be considering the larger issue, it said further while giving interim order.

    When the ASG Bhati sought to submit that women have been conferred Permanent Commission in the Army, Justice Kaul remarked, “You (Army) kept on opposing it and till orders were not passed, you didn’t do anything. The Navy and the Airforce are more forthcoming. The Army seems to have a bias to not implement.”

    The court’s order came on a plea seeking directions to allow eligible female candidates to join the NDA and the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at par with the men. The plea filed by advocate Kush Kalra stated that denial of opportunity to women candidates to enrol at the NDA is violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19 of the Constitution.

    Senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, appearing for Kalra, told the Bench that the government has filed its affidavit and they say it is purely a policy decision and should not be interfered with by the court and that because girls are not allowed to enter into NDA does not mean there is any difficulty in their progression or in their career.

    Earlier, the Bench had also issued a notice in an impleadment application by a woman candidate Anita, who was denied an opportunity to enrol at the NDA. Anita said she had to give up her aspirations to join the Armed Forces.

    The plea said stated that the eligible and willing female candidates being denied the opportunity of entry to the National Defence Academy “on the basis of their sex and thereby systematically and categorically excluding eligible female candidates” the opportunity to train at the premier joint training institute of the Indian Armed Forces which, at a later point of time, becomes a hurdle in the career advancement opportunities for Female Officers in the Armed Forces.

    The petition was filed in light of the directions issued by the top court on the extension of Permanent Commission to Short Service Commissioned women officers of the Indian Army.

    The plea said, “After the passing of the judgment in the matter of Secretary, Ministry of Defence vs Babita Puniya by this Court, Permanent Commission has been extended to the Women Officers of the Army.

    However, there is still no mode of entry available to female candidates to join the Armed Forces as Permanent Commission Officers. In the present state of affairs, female candidates have to apply through the appropriate mode of entry into the Armed Forces as a Short Service Commissioned Officer and after serving for a certain period of time, have the option to opt for Permanent Commission.”

    It added that granting Permanent Commission to the Short Service Commission Women Officers is only half a measure to restore equality of opportunity in the Army.

    “The categorical exclusion of women to train at the National Defence Academy and get commissioned into the Armed Forces of the Country as Permanent Commissioned Officers solely on the basis of their sex is a denial of the Fundamental Right to Practice any Profession and it is not justifiable within the contours of the Indian Constitution,” it added.

    The government allows unmarried male candidates having adequate 10+2 qualification to take the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination, however, eligible and willing female candidates are not allowed to take this examination on the sole ground of their sex and without any reasonable or justifiable explanations, the petitioner contended.

  • Army to sponsor education for youth of J&K and Ladakh in schools and institutions run by them

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has decided to sponsor undergraduate courses and school education to selected children and youth from the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in residential schools and colleges functioning under the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) across the country, as part of Operation Sadbhavana.

    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday said, “The initiative is aimed at providing quality education to deserving candidates from the Union Territories and offer them opportunities and exposure to acquire requisite competence and capability for a secure future.”

    A total of 100 seats (50 each) have been earmarked for boys and girls of classes VIII and IX in two Army Public Schools (APS) at Beas (Punjab) and Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) for the academic year 2021-22. From 2022-23 onwards, these 100 seats will include seats in Army Public Schools in Dhaula Kuan (New Delhi), Noida (UP), and Dagshai (HP).

    As for the higher education six vacancies (two each) in professional colleges at Bengaluru (Army Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology and Army Institute of Fashion Design) and Guwahati / Jalandhar (Army Institute of Nursing / Army College of Nursing) respectively will be made available in the academic year 2021-22.

    The colleges will offer Bachelors’ Degrees in Hospitality, Fashion Design (only girls) and Nursing (only girls). From 2022-23 onwards, two additional seats each will be provided in Army’s Management institution at Kolkata / Greater Noida (UP) and Army Institute of Education (only girls) at Greater Noida (UP).  The students will be offered MBA and B Ed / B Ed Special Education (only girls) courses in these colleges.

    The scholarships will be sponsored by the Army’s Northern Command and will be only for the students domiciled residents of J&K and Ladakh and will be eligible for admissions during the academic year 2021-22.

    Talking about the eligibility criteria, the MoD said, every candidate should have passed the qualifying exam relevant to a specific field of education. In addition, all aspirants will have to appear in an admission test from next year onwards.

    “The scheme offers a novel opportunity to deserving children and youth from Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh to shape their future into a dream career by studying in the country’s best schools and colleges with stellar faculty, innovative pedagogy, immersive experience and state-of-the-art infrastructure.” said MoD