Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 30, 2017
URL:   http://www.pressreader.com/india/the-times-of-india-mumbai-edition/20170530/281951722771643

The Army claims only 66 out of the 1,736 allegations levelled against it for violating human rights have been found to be true since 1994, in which around 150 soldiers have been punished.

A senior officer on Monday stressed the Indian Army’s human rights record “is one of the best in the world, which is appreciated globally”. This comes in the backdrop of strident criticism of the “human shield” episode, which saw Major Leetul Gogoi truss up a civilian on his jeep’s bonnet to rescue security and election personnel from a stone-pelting mob in Kashmir last month.

The officer said the Army had received 1,736 allegations, mainly during counter-insurgency operations in J&K and northeast from 1994 to April 2017. “Of these, 1,695 cases have been probed, the rest are under investigation.
Of the cases investigated, 1,629 were found to be false or baseless. In the 66 cases found to be correct and true, 150 personnel were punished and compensation awarded in 49 cases,” he said.

But Gen Bipin Rawat’s move to award the chief of army staff (COAS) commendation card to Major Gogoi even before the court of inquiry into the incident could be finalised, virtually giving him a clean chit, has further fuelled criticism over the manner in which the force has handled the “human shield” episode.