NEW DELHI, Sept 3:
Defence Minister A K Antony today said suicide by a jawan had led to “unrest” among troops of an Army unit deployed in Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh had claimed that the two incidents were “not connected”.
Officers and jawans of the 16th Cavalry regiment were engaged in stand-off on August 8 in Samba sector soon after the jawan committed suicide.
“The incident of a suicide by an Army personnel on August 8 in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir led to unrest. A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been convened by the Army to investigate the matter,” Antony said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
After the incident came to light, Gen Bikram Singh had stated that two separate CoIs had been instituted by the Army and that “there was no connection between the suicide and the incident.”
Antony said in the last two years, there have three such incidents where officers and jawans have been involved in “scuffles” at different places including the 226 Field Regiment at Nyoma in Ladakh and 45th Cavalry at Gurdaspur in Punjab.
The Defence Minister said jawans are not subjected to “undue harassment” by officers and they perform their responsibilities in a “congenial atmosphere”.
In the same reply, he said in the last three years, 1,602 officers have sought either premature retirement or resigned from the force and 882 of these pleas have been accepted.
In case of Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and jawans, he said 25,063 of them have taken premature retirement from the force.
Antony said a number of steps including liberalised leave policy, provision of recreational facilities and deployment of psychological counsellors to keep up the morale of jawans.
Antony said it has conveyed its concerns to China about its activities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
He also said India has asked the Chinese Government to cease such activities in PoK.
“Government has conveyed its concerns to China about their activities in PoK and asked them to cease such activities,” he said.
Antony also said the Government is aware of the Chinese infrastructure development along the border and in PoK.
He said, “China disputes the international boundary with India. There is no common delineated Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two countries. Both sides patrol up to their respective perceptions of LAC.”
Antony denied there has been any Chinese “intrusion” into the Indian territory during the last three years.
However, he said, “Chinese patrolling up to their perception of LAC is treated as transgression. Such incidents are taken up with China through established mechanism such as hot lines, flag meetings, border personnel meeting and the newly established Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs.”
Providing details of the places where Indian lands are under Chinese occupation, Antony said, “Indian territory under occupation by China in Jammu and Kashmir since 1962 is approximately 38,000 sq km. In addition to this, under the so called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in PoK to China.”
In the eastern sector also, China illegally claims approximately 90,000 sq km of Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh, the minister said.
For settlement of boundary issues between India and China, Antony said, “The two countries have appointed special representatives to explore from the political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship the framework for a boundary settlement.”
In reply to a query over Chinese naval presence in Indian Ocean Region (IOR), he said the Government is aware of projects like port development and deep sea mining by China.
“Majority of world’s oil and gas trade originates in Gulf of West Africa and transits through the Indian Ocean. The maritime traffic, for ensuring discipline and safe passage across seas, uses the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) which are governed by the United Nations Convention for Laws of Seas (UNCLOS) and International Maritime Law,” Antony said.
On measures taken to contain the emerging security threats in the IOR, he said the Government is keeping a constant watch on all developments concerning national security and commercial interest. (PTI)
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