With an upset Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah raising the Armys inaction on the Sopore encounter probe with Defence Minister A K Antony,the MoD has expressed deep concern over the Army dragging its feet on an inquiry into the incident that left two civilians dead last month. The incident has turned into a major flashpoint for the Army,which has now been directed by the ministry to submit a detailed report within two days to clarify its position on the matter. The ministry is livid over the fact that almost a month after the incident,the Army is yet to come clear with its probe while the District Magistrate has already submitted his report to the Government. This comes even as the District Magistrates report says that the firing on February 22 was carried out by the Army in panic. It also contends the Armys claim that there was a crossfire by saying that there is no evidence of militants being present on the spot. The J-K Government probe,this report of which has already been shared with the Army,says Army jawans were searching a bus in Sopore when they noticed some suspicious movement. The jawans opened fire in panic resulting in the death of two innocent civilians,it says. Putting the Army in a tight spot,the report also brings out that the bullets found in the two dead bodies were fired from Army rifles. The report is based on forensic examination,postmortem findings and eyewitness accounts. The incident,which has created a political furore in the state,prompted Abdullah to meet Antony and demand repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from his state. It is learnt that the Government has ordered a senior secretary level delegation to visit Srinagar shortly to examine the situation. Under pressure to come clean on the Sopore incident,Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor has said that action would be taken against anyone found guilty. Our inquiry should finalise its report within this week. If anyone is found guilty,we will take action, General Kapoor told reporters at the sidelines of a defence function in the capital on Wednesday. The Army,on its part,is standing firm by its stance that the civilians were killed in a crossfire with militants when the Army party was searching the bus. Army sources say the search operation was carried out on the basis of hard intelligence and an encounter with militants took place. Sources say that the Armys internal inquiry into the matter has brought out that a crossfire did take place,based on the number of bullet shells found at the site. While the Army party fired close to 20 bullets in the encounter,double the number of shells were found on the spot,indicating the presence of other armed men who fired at the jawans.
