Army jawans beat up cops, ransack railway station

Led by a lieutenant colonel, around 60 uniformed men allegedly ransacked the Kathua railway station and beat up six policemen while abducting one on Monday evening.

Led by a lieutenant colonel, around 60 uniformed men allegedly ransacked the Kathua railway station and beat up six policemen while abducting one on Monday evening.

HT Image

The incident sparked off panic and many passengers who had come to the station to board the train ran away. Even shopkeepers in nearby villages downed their shutters and fled in panic.

According to the police, at about 10.20pm on Monday, lance naik Deepak Kumar of 225 Field Regiment, based at Janglote, came to board Jhelum Express.

On arriving, Kumar allegedly removed the switch of the door-frame metal detector to charge his mobile phone. Objecting to that, Kuldeep Raj, head constable of the General Railway Police (GRP), which mans railways, got the charger removed.

"It infuriated Kumar and he started beating Raj, who started bleeding," superintendent of police (Railways) Shiv Kumar Sharma told HT.

On seeing this, other police personnel overpowered Kumar and took him to the railway police station. Kumar, meanwhile, informed his unit about the incident on phone.

The SP said at about 11pm a truckload of army personnel led by Lt Col MU Khan surrounded the station. Some of them smashed windows while others started beating sentry Jarnail Singh. Other police officers were also beaten up.

"The army men then forcibly lifted munshi Ghulam Nabi and took him to their unit at Janglote," said Sharma.

The matter was brought to the notice of SSP Kathua who had a word with the seniors of the regiment after which the munshi was let off.

Sentry Jarnail Singh is in critical condition. The GRP has registered a case of attempt to murder and abduction.