NEW DELHI: The Sopore tragedy, in which a large number of people died on Jan.6, is causing deep concern in the Government circles.
Officially, 40 bodies have been recovered and identified from the charred remains of houses and shops. Many bodies bear bullet marks, received in the duel between the BSF and the Hizbul Mujahedcen, according 1o official Sources.
The Government, wormed about the fallout of the tragedy, has taken swift action against the troops and begun providing relief to the injured and the relatives of the dead.
According to Home Ministry sources here, the shootout took place when a BSF patrol comprising two platoons was fired upon by militants. In the crossfire, it is suspected, an ammunition dump and several gas cylinders were hit. The resultant fire enveloped many houses and shops.
The BSF platoons had moved into the town following an explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) which blew up a vehicle of an army convoy, two km from Sopore on the road to Kupwara.
As the 40strong road opening party of the BSF moved into view in the town’s main through fare, militants are said to have fired upon them from housetops, hitting two Troopers, one of them crucially and damaging the ammunition magazine cared by the party, militants also snatched away alight machine gun (LMG) being craned by the BSF party.
The BSF returned fire, and official sources feel, may have been guilty of “overreaction” by the sight of the injury to two of them. The platoon leaders seem to have lost their head, particularly since the stock strategy of the militants in the recent past has been to engage security forces in crowded places, in order to ensure civilian casualties and hoping to reap political dividends thereby.
The blaze was brought under control by nightfall and by afternoon on Friday 40 bodies had been removed from charred remains.
Shocked by the level of casualties, Governor Saxena who was asked by the Prime Minister to visit Sopore, visited the town on Wednesday, accompanied by advisor Lt Gen Zaki, BSF Director General T.Ananthachan and Director General of State police B.S.Bedi.
He announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of the kin of the dead as also compensation to the injured. Also in the package was assistance for rebuilding houses, and ruined businesses. Saxena also ordered high-level inquiry, asked the State officials to register criminal cases, and BSF chief Ananthachari on his part setup a staff court of inquiry to fix the blame.
The incident is seen as having the potential to neutralize whatever gain made by the State administrator in the recent months in its fight against the militants.
The Center and the State administration feel that the oops may have “overreached” when one of them was shot by militant snipers, though the result of the high-level inquiry would be awaited before punishment is awarded to the guilty officers and troopers.
“This is the kind of thing we can do without…the militants’ strategy has been to bang about alienation on people, and a tragedy will give grist to their mill,” source said.
The BSF party’s culpability, if any appears to lay in the fact that they were aware of the Hizbul all empts to provoke them, particularly in the light of the BSF’s “success” in scoring some successes in Sopore.
“The clock may have not set back a bit, said a rueful officer. By how much, the coming days should show, with Pakistan already moving into the act trying to whip up frenzy through incendiary broadcasts.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 15, 1993
