Family members of army jawan Vijay Kumar Rai during his cremation ceremony at Vyapur in Maner, Bihar (PTI)
New Delhi: The Army is expected to order a court of inquiry to investigate if tactical lapses allowed the ambush and killing of five Indian jawans near the Line of Control in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir this week. The statement of a sixth soldier, Sambhaji Kute, who survived, is expected to be critical to the investigation.
Havildar Kute who is from Maharashtra is being treated in a Poonch hospital.
At 2 am on Tuesday, an area domination patrol team of six Indian jawans was ambushed by heavily armed terrorists, backed by the Paksitan Army. Havildar Kute of the 14 Maratha Light Infantry was the only survivor. Four jawans of the 21 Bihar regiment and one from the 14 Maratha Light Infantry regiment were killed in the attack.
While a court of inquiry is mandatory in such an incident, questions have been raised over why six members were patrolling the area in the team when standard practice is to go out on in a party of at least ten, which is called a section. (
Blog: Did tactical errors trap Indian soldiers?)
Some reports have suggested that 21 Bihar, the outgoing regiment, was showing the unit that would take over in the area, 14 Maratha, key locations and a bunker ahead of the fence, but well within the Indian side of the LoC. If so, experts ask, why was the new unit being familiarised at night?
Then, patrolling had happened in the same pattern without variation for days, sources said. Doing this over a prolonged period gives the adversary an opportunity to observe the patrolling pattern closely and allows it to attack at a time and place of its choosing?
The most vulnerable period on the LoC is during the changeover of units, experts say. This is when the old unit, familiar with the territory is in transfer mode, the new one is yet to familiarise.
Attacks have happened in such periods before. In 2010 two Indian soldiers were beheaded in the Uri sector during a changeover.
Indian troops are also reported to use similar tactics.