Pak Border Action Team suspected of beheading Indian porter

PTI, Jan 12, 2020, 2:37 PM IST

Jammu: Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) is suspected to have decapitated a porter, who was among two civilians killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district on Friday, and taken away the head, officials have said.

This is the first time that any civilian has been beheaded by the BAT, which comprises Pakistani army regulars and terrorists, though similar incidents involving security personnel have taken place in the past, they said.

The body of Mohammad Aslam, 28, was mutilated and his head was missing, a senior police officer said. On the killings by Pakistan, Army chief General MM Naravane said on Saturday that professional armies never resort to “barbaric” acts and they “will deal appropriately with such situations in a military manner”.

A defence spokesman had earlier said that Aslam and Altaf Hussain, 23, both residents of Kassalian village in Gulpur sector, were killed and three others were injured after being hit by a mortar shell when Pakistani Army targeted a group of porters who were carrying logistics for the troops in a forward area close the LoC on Friday.

However, officials said on Saturday that the head of one of the porters was missing and is believed to have been taken away by the BAT.

“The body of Aslam was headless when handed over to police for completion of legal formalities. The bodies of both the porters were handed over to their families and their last rites were conducted in their village on Friday evening,” said the police officer, asking not to be named.

He said the injured porters — Mohamamd Saleem, 24, Mohammad Showka, 28, and Nawaz Ahmad, 35 — are being treated at a hospital and their condition is “stable”.

“We will deal appropriately with such situations in a military manner,” General Naravane said when asked about the incident at a press conference in Delhi ahead of Army Day.

He said the Indian Army conducts itself in the most professional and ethical manner including on the LoC. “Professional armies never resort to barbaric acts,” he said.