Three army soldiers lost their lives in militant firing in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 on Saturday, as the government toiled to buttress its all-is-well narrative.
The militants also snatched the weapons of the three soldiers before melting into the forests. A massive search is underway in the area to hunt them down.
Dozens of pro-government handles remained busy through the day to showcase how Kashmir has found its elusive peace. Across Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP and the government organised programmes to mark the anniversary, appearing oblivious to the soldiers’ deaths.
The army announced the deaths of the three soldiers around 12.30am on Saturday, a few hours after they were injured in an anti-militancy operation in Halan village of Kulgam. Sources said it was the heaviest single-day toll of soldiers in three years in Kashmir.
A defence spokesman said an operation had been launched in the higher reaches of Halan on Friday evening following specific inputs about the presence of militants. “In the exchange of firing with terrorists, three personnel sustained injuries and later succumbed,” the spokesman said.
The army identified the three as Havildar Babulal Haritwal, Signalman Vala Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh and rifleman Waseem Sarwar of the 34 Rashtriya Rifles. Waseem was a footballer-turned-soldier from north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
To prevent protests to mark the anniversary of the scrapping of special status, the authorities on Saturday allegedly put former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and several other leaders under house arrest, detained some and sealed the office of the National Conference.
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s official Twitter handle shared details of a series of programmes to mark the anniversary, where he claimed that a “complete dismantling of terror sympathisers & secessionist network has allowed the society to live with freedom, live without fear”.
“We have laid a new foundation for growth & prosperity of J&K. We have ended decades of tyranny & terror ecosystem. Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji, we have established a lasting peace, which has brought social justice, opportunity & dignity to people,” the LG’s office tweeted.
Both government and BJP handles were silent about the soldiers' deaths and offered no condolences until at least Saturday evening, around 18 hours after the tragedy.
BJP leader Ashok Koul told reporters after a rally in Srinagar that “terrorism and separatism” had been almost finished after the August 5, 2019, developments.
In Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah said the decision to scrap Article 370 provisions had ushered in a new dawn of peace and development.
