Srinagar: The Army on Wednesday decided to shift the entire unit of 53 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), comprising 125, soldiers from the area – two days after Army personnel on patrol duty opened fire on a car, killing two teenagers in Chattergam village of Budgam district.
The killings had triggered protests across Srinagar and nearby places, with locals demanding removal of the Army camp from the area as they had been involved in a similar killing two years ago.
Expressing regret for the incident, the Army said it had intelligence inputs about a movement by militants and the soldiers had opened fire after the car had failed to stop at three consecutive checkposts. Of the five occupants of the car, two teenagers – one of them a 14-year-old – died.
A state administration report pointed out that the Maruti car that failed to stop at the checkpost, had actually skidded and hit an electric pole on the roadside when it was fired upon by troops.
The District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Budgam submitted the joint report to the state government and the Election Commission.
This is the second such incident at Chattergam involving Army personnel from the same unit. In October 2012, Army men opened fire on a private Sumo, killing two soldiers of Territorial Army. Seven soldiers were travelling in the vehicle.
The National Human Rights Commission has already issued notices to the Defence Ministry and the administration regarding the incident.