E-Paper
Soldier found dead on LoC, family allege ‘murder’
On Tuesday morning, deceased soldier’s father, grandfather and a few relatives staged a protest at the hospital in Mendhar where body was kept
A soldier was found dead with a gunshot injury on his head in “suspecious” circumstances along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district on Monday evening.
The deceased was identified as Ridham Sharma, 22, a resident of Serwad village in Katra of Reasi district. He was posted at 6 JAKLI (D Coy). An army officer confirmed the incident.
Sources said that soon after the incident, the soldier was rushed to a MI (medical inspection) room where doctors declared him brought dead. They said that an investigation into the matter is underway.
On Tuesday morning, deceased soldier’s father, grandfather and a few relatives staged a protest at the hospital in Mendhar where body was kept. They refused to accept the dead body of their ward and called it a “murder”, and demanded a probe into the incident.
While army has instituted a court of inquiry, Mendhar police have initiated inquest proceedings.The body was taken by the army after post-mortem.
“According to the army, the soldier was on a patrol duty and carried an INSAS rifle. We will thoroughly investigate the case,” said Mendhar station-house officer Sajad. The Army has not issues a statement on the incident.
