On Sunday, the government has declared its support to the Army officer who decided to use an alleged stone pelter as a ‘human shield’. The youth, Dar, was tied to the jeep to lead the unit and officials and also the paramilitary personnel on election duty to safety.
The Rashtriya Rifles unit, in an attempt to move officials to safety, amidst the stone pelting and violence on the day of elections, tied a stone pelter as a last option to the jeep. The crowd, positioned on roofs and the surrounding roads, seeing one of their own, reluctantly let the army pass by unharmed. The officials that were trapped included dozen J&K employees, 9-10 ITBP Jawans and also constables and a bus driver.
The Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said that he will address this issue after meeting the officials on Monday. The Jammu and Kashmir police filed a case against the Rashtriya Rifles unit and the officers that used a youth as a human shield. But Government declared its support to the unit and said that this move was taken to fulfill their duty of protecting locals and hence cannot be condemned. The incident, which happened on April 9, attracted the ire of citizens of the country after it was uploaded on Social Media sites.
