Former deputy chief of army staff Lieutenant General (retired) Raj Kadyan on Thursday stated that the punishment awarded to those found guilty in the Machil fake encounter case has only reaffirmed that the Army doesn't pardon any indiscipline among its members.
"The punishment awarded to those who have been found guilty over the fake encounter in Machil area is reaffirmation of the fact that the Army doesn't condone any act of indiscipline among its members," Lt General (retd.) Kadyan told ANI here today.
Lt General (retd.) Kadyan also said that the detractors of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) have now been proved wrong with the punishment handed out to the wrongdoers.
"People who have been crying hoarse against the AFSPA on the plea that this act gives a blanket sanction on the armymen are let loose and nobody is actually punished - this is a slap on their face," he said.
"They should notice this. It is not the first time: the Army in the past also has punished its guilty members. Army does not permit any deviation from highest standard of discipline or from the rules of engagement in the areas where it is deployed in combating insurgency or militancy," he added.
The confirmation of life sentence of five and not seven persons, as earlier reported by the Ministry of Defence sources, is yet to be done by appropriate authorities, as per Army sources.
"The process is still not completed as the confirmation of the sentence is yet to be done by appropriate authorities," army sources were further quoted, as saying.
Security forces had earlier claimed that they had killed three infiltrators and recovered five AK47 rifles, ammunition and Pakistani currency from them in the Machil sector. According to reports, the Jammu and Kashmir Police found that the men killed by the security forces were actually innocent civilians, who were reported missing from a village in Baramulla District.
