Five Army personnel, including two officers, one of the rank of colonel, being given life sentences at the end of court martial proceedings for the murder of three civilians at Machil in the Kashmir Valley is a signal event that will echo for long.
No one really thought that the Army officials will be brought to justice. They had shot the innocent villagers dead in cold blood after luring them to their military camp in order to collect rewards for neutralising terrorists.
The incident was shameful. It brought the Army a bad name and it brought the country a bad name. The Army has in general enjoyed a fair reputation in Kashmir.
This was the case even at the height of the insurgency two decades ago. But black sheep within its ranks had spoilt its copybook. The black mark has now been removed.
The Indian Army’s standing as a professional body of soldiers which does not disregard ethics has been restored. The force must ensure that it must bring the same spirit to bear in the case of all transgressions in Kashmir and elsewhere as it did in the Machil case.
A fine example was recently set when the head of the Army’s Northern Command accepted guilt and apologised in the case of the killing of two young boys in Budgam district by an Army patrol, even as an official inquiry is on.
The Army and other security institutions must know that they are dealing with India’s own citizens even in insurgency situations, as in J&K.
