Capt Amarinder Singh condemns Sikh soldier killing

Chandigarh, October 31, 2016: Condemning the brutal killing and mutilation of a Sikh soldier near the Line of Control, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday expressed horror and rage at the inhuman act, which he said appeared to be designed to provoke the Indian forces into continued skirmishes across the border.

Mandeep Singh, a soldier with the 17 Sikh Regiment, was killed and his body mutilated while out on patrol ahead of Kala Post in the Machil sector on Friday morning. The repulsive act, which has naturally triggered furious outrage among the Indian Army, cannot be allowed to go unavenged, said Captain Amarinder.

Even as he urged the Indian government to take up the matter at the highest levels with the Pakistani authorities, Captain Amarinder made it clear that if those guilty of this heinous crime are not punished by the Pakistani government then the Indian Army might be forced to take matters into its own hands. “You cannot expect our soldiers to take such atrocities lying down,” he told the central government.

“It is evident that the unnecessary and unprovoked killing, and the subsequent mutilation of Mandeep’s body was aimed at keeping the Indian armed forces engaged while terrorists take advantage of the skirmishes to sneak into the Indian side of LoC,” said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president.

Though it was not clear whether Mandeep was ambushed before being viciously executed and mutilated, the incident clearly suggested that Pakistan was not willing to mend its ways and would continue to indulge in such acts of human rights violation in defiance of all global conventions. New Delhi should aggressively raise such issues at UN and other international platforms in order to expose Islamabad’s nefarious designs and isolate it from the world community, said Captain Amarinder.