Rajouri-Poonch likely to get new sector chief; inquiry to find if SOPs violated
Sources said that a new sector commander of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) is likely to take charge soon. An inquiry was on to establish if standing operating procedures were violated in recent attacks by terrorists on Army personnel, they said.
The Army has elaborate laid down procedures to deal with terrorist-related incidents that have been defined through decades of experience fighting insurgencies.
Army chief General Manoj Pande is likely to visit Jammu on Monday to take stock of the security situation and will meet senior officers to assess ongoing counterinsurgency operations and review the situation along the Line of Control.
On Thursday, four Army soldiers died when their vehicles were ambushed while they were rushing to an encounter site. The terrorists are believed to have made a video of the attack and mutilated bodies of two soldiers.
Terrorists had earlier attacked an Army truck near Poonch in the same fashion in April, killing five soldiers.
The truck came under fire while it was going to distribute rations to a nearby village, but it was not travelling with an armed convoy.
The Army has also launched a massive cordon and search operation in the forest area around Dera Ki Gali where the ambush took place on Thursday.
Sources said an inquiry has been ordered into the deaths of three civilians who had been picked up for questioning. It is believed that a Major who led the operation to pick up the suspects has been attached pending the inquiry.
The Army has not yet commented on the videos that emerged after the suspects were picked up that showed them being tortured and beaten.
