Centre To Back Army Officer Who Decided To Use Alleged Stone-Pelter As Human Shield

The central government has decided to back the Army officer who took the call to tie an alleged stone-pelter to an army jeep to prevent a group of unruly mobsters from harming a convoy of election officers, the Times of India has reported.

According to the report, the government has noted that the officer took this decision as the last resort to protect a dozen polling officers, who were accompanied by a few soldiers, nine men from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and two Jammu and Kashmir Police jawans.

The stone-pelters had taken position on surrounding rooftops of the road that the convey was supposed to pass by. There were at least 400 of them, NDTV reported. According to the news channel’s report, a quick reaction team of the army was called in to prevent escalation of hostilities, but the numerical superiority of the stone-pelting mob made it almost impossible for the convoy to move.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to discuss the issue with the Army. The government has appreciated the resolve of the army officer who took the call in a hostile environment as a last resort against rampaging stone-pelters. He had reportedly volunteered to serve in Kashmir.