According to the First Information Report (FIR), a group of armed and uniformed individuals, led by three lieutenant colonels, forcibly entered the premises of the Kupwara police station. The incident, which occurred on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, resulted in a case of attempted murder and dacoity being registered against three army lieutenant colonels and 13 others.
The violent attack reportedly stemmed from the questioning of a Territorial Army jawan by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with an alleged drug case. The armed group, purportedly from the 160 Territorial Army, accompanied by senior Indian Army officials, stormed the police station, as evidenced by video footage.
The Territorial Army is a reserve force comprising part-time volunteers who provide support services to the Indian Army. According to the FIR, the armed group led by lieutenant colonels Ankit Sood, Rajiv Chauhan, and Nikhil forcibly entered the police station premises and launched a brutal assault on the police personnel present there. They used rifle butts, sticks, and physical violence without provocation.
The situation escalated further as the army personnel brandished their weapons, seized mobile phones from the injured police officers, and even abducted a police constable before fleeing the scene, as stated in the FIR.
Senior police officers swiftly responded to the incident, rescuing the targeted police personnel and initiating legal action against the perpetrators. The FIR has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to obstructing public servants, causing hurt to deter public servants from duty, attempted murder, wrongful confinement, rioting, robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, and abduction.
The accused individuals have also been booked under the Arms Act. The investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Kupwara deputy superintendent of police, with authorities aiming to uncover the full extent of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.
However, a Srinagar-based defense spokesperson sought to downplay the incident, stating that reports of an altercation between police and army personnel and the beating up of police personnel are "misfounded and incorrect." The spokesperson claimed that minor differences between police personnel and a Territorial Army unit on an operational matter had been amicably resolved.
