Army calls off search op to help unwell girl

Srinagar, March 8

The situation was tense. Soldiers had surrounded a Kashmir village following a tip-off that terrorists were holed up somewhere when two men came forward to inform a young girl was unwell. Within seconds, the wireless buzzed – ‘All stations on hold’.

The cordon and search operation (CASO) at Kralkhod village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Saturday was immediately suspended by 1-RR Commanding Officer Col Kapil Mohan Sehgal and a medical officer accompanying the troops sent to attend to the 11-year-old, officials said.

Captain Sanjana Sharma, a resident medical officer attached to 1-Rashtriya Rifles, said, “She had a bout of seizures. Once her condition stabilised, her parents were asked to take her to the district hospital.”

Earlier, the men folk of the village had been lined up for identification when the Army was informed at the time the two men approached an Army officer.

“Fighting terrorism may be topping the agenda for the Army in Kashmir but saving an innocent life is still the topmost priority,” he said.

There are no regrets, agreed his Major General Rashim Bali, General Officer-in Command of Victor Force. — PTI