SRINAGAR: The picture of an Army man dragging the body of a militant, killed in an encounter, with chains tied to his leg, on a road in Katra in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir has caused outrage with human rights activist terming it as "barbaric".
Three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants were killed by security forces in a seven-hour gunfight at Dhiriti Village in Reasi district of Jammu province on Thursday. At least 12 security men including three officers were injured in the gunfight with the terrorists.
The encounter ended after bodies of all three militants, who according to police had infiltrated from Samba sector on Wednesday morning and fired on policemen in Jajjar Kotli, were recovered and security forces called off the operation.
The picture has gone viral on social media and drawn strong reactions, with many criticising the Army for not showing respect to the body of a dead terrorist.
Human rights activist Khurram Parvez termed the incident as "barbaric" and tweeted, “This explains Indian Army's human rights conduct."
Despite repeated attempts, Defence spokesman in Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand could not be reached for army version on the incident.
However, Defence analyst and TV host Major Gaurav Arya defended the Army in his tweet.
"Before dying, a terrorist will remove the pin of a grenade and suppress the lever with his body, effectively booby trapping his own body. When dead body is moved, lever disengages and grenade goes off, killing security forces. This is why body is pulled with rope. It's common sense," he tweeted.
Senior Kashmiri journalist Ahmed Ali Fayyaz also took to Twitter to express his dismay over the incident.
"To the best of our knowledge, no law, no international protocol does permit security forces to drag a dead militant's body this way. This is why sometimes killing of one militant leads to induction of 2 fresh militants and the cycle goes unending. It's illegal and condemnable".