Army officers, jawans face off again in J&K

[Sir john]

The Army has been jolted by yet another shocking breach of discipline with a grim stand-off erupting between officers and jawans of an armoured unit after a soldier committed suicide at a military camp in the border district of Samba in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning. This comes close after officers and jawans of an artillery regiment deployed in the Nyoma sub-district of eastern Ladakh had violently clashed with each other - which left the unit commanding officer, two majors and two jawans grievously injured -- in May. The incident on Wednesday was triggered when the jawan, Arun V, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram, shot himself with his service rifle in the camp of the 16th Light Cavalry at Samba in the morning. He died on the spot. Sources said "tension" between the officers and jawans of the 16th Cavalry had been "simmering for quite some time" without any corrective steps being taken. The suicide proved to be the tipping point. "Angry jawans then ganged up to surround the officers and their residences in protest, leading to a prolonged face-off," said a source. The gravity of the situation and the "complete failure of command and control" was such that senior officers, including the commander of the Yol-based 9 Corps, Lt-General A K Bhalla, rushed to the spot to calm down inflamed tempers. All officers of the 16th Cavalry were subsequently moved out of their residences and attached to different messes as a precautionary move to prevent the trouble from escalating further. There were even indications that two Army units had been rushed to Samba, which houses a brigade and the armoured regiment, to control the situation. The Army HQ in New Delhi, on being contacted, said a court of inquiry had been ordered into the incident but denied that there was any violent brawl between the officers and jawans. "There was a suicide but no clash. Yes, the unit officers have been moved to different messes to ensure an impartial probe. The corps commander (Lt-Gen Bhalla) is camping in the area and the situation is under control," said an officer. All this does not happen if the case is of a simple suicide. Incidentally, defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday told Parliament that as many as 1,018 soldiers had committed suicide since 2003, with the yearly toll regularly climbing over 100. Incidents of fragging (to kill or wound a fellow soldier) have also become a regular phenomenon in the 1.13-million strong Army. A report by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research had earlier held that "perceived humiliation and harassment, over and above occupational and familial causes", at the hands of their superiors often serves as the final "trigger" for jawans in stress-related cases in the armed forces.

:fear:

[Sir john]

Incidents of officer-jawan faceoff a matter of concern: Antony

Defence Minister A K Antony today voiced concern over incidents of face off between officers and jawans but said that the armed forces are capable of handling them on their own. "Each incident is a matter of concern to me but armed forces are better trained to handle such situations. They are handling it in their own way. Today also I had a brief discussion with the army chief and they are handling it," he said on the sidelines of a function here. The Minister was asked about the three major incidents of brawl between officers and jawans in the army, the latest involving personnel of 16 Cavalry unit in Samba in Jammu and Kashmir after a jawan committed suicide. In May, similar situation had erupted in 226 artillery regiment in Ladakh and in a separate case, officers and jawans of 45 Cavalry unit had fought with each other in June last year in Gurdaspur in Punjab. Court of Inquiry (CoI) in all the three incidents is under progress. Asked about suicide cases in the armed forces, Antony said, "Even if there is one suicide in armed forces, I am always pained. Compared to the past, the number of suicides and fratricides in armed forces are slightly reduced. "But I am not happy as even suicide by one soldier is a matter of pain to me. But over the years, we have been able to reduce the numbers gradually," he said. Asked about the increasing Chinese pressure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Finger Area in Sikkim, the Defence Minister dismissed it as an "aberration" saying the overall situation all along the boundary was peaceful. "It is not a new issue. Sometimes it happens like that as there is no officially-accepted points on entire border. There are seven eight disputed points in this border. In these disputed areas, both sides are patrolling. We have our own patrolling and they have their's," Antony said. The Minister said sometimes "unfortunate incidents take place but these are aberrations only and not a regular thing. Now we have recently set up a border management mechanism. That is also now functioning very effectively. By and large, India China border is very peaceful." On the high-level committee formed by the Prime Minister to look into pay and pension anomalies of the armed forces, he said, "Our Government is very sensitive and sympathetic to the welfare of the armed forces. The Committee under the Cabinet Secretary is discussing the matter. I hope for a satisfactory report at the earliest." Asked if the demand for representation of armed forces in the Committee has been accepted, the Defence Minister said, "the Committee has twice invited the armed forces chiefs. First the Navy Chief as Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee and then recently all the three chiefs went there to give their views." The armed forces have pointed out several anomalies in their pay and pensions and have demanded the elevation of all Lt Gen-rank officers in to a higher pay scale and 'One Rank One Pension' for the ex-servicemen.

[veer]

what the hell.. never heard anything like this in Indian Army. this is worrisome.