Govt response disappointing, says Kargil martyr’s father; moves Supreme Court

Disappointed with the cold response he received over the past 13 years, despite approaching the highest authorities in the country, Dr N K Kalia, the father of Kargil martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia who was subjected to brutal torture in captivity by the Pakistan Army, has moved the Supreme Court, seeking a direction to the government for taking up his son's case in an international judicial forum.

In his petition to the SC, Kalia, a retired CSIR scientist, has asked the government to get Pakistan to apologise for the incident that went against all norms of the Geneva Convention, which charts out protocols for treatment of prisoners of war.

"I have a ray hope with so many citizens and the media backing my campaign. I am overwhelmed with the response received in the last 48 hours after I moved the SC. We are dealing with the worst kind of enemy country. There is an extreme anti-India feeling; there are many lies. However, I am more disappointed with the response of the Indian government to my letters and representations. I also filed an RTI application to know if the government had actually lodged a protest. The response to my RTI application has only added to my agony," he told The Indian Express.

Immediately after getting commissioned into the 4 Jat Regiment, Saurabh was posted in Kargil. In May 1999, he had gone out for patrol duty in Kaksar along with five others. They were caught by the Pakistan Army, which kept them in captivity for 22 days, and subjected to brutal torture as was evident from their bodies handed over on June 9, 1999.

Kalia says that his son was subjected to criminal torture like burning with cigarettes, piercing ears with hot rods, removing eyes before puncturing them, breaking bones and teeth, chopping off limbs and private organs.

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