Captain Kalia's father takes fight for justice to UN

A petition has been filed with the United Nation Human Rights Council by the Flags of Honour Foundation, says Vicky Nanappa

A petition has been filed with the United Nation Human Rights Council by the Flags of Honour Foundation, Captain Kalia's father Dr N K Kalia and Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar, against war crimes and the torture inflicted on Captain Kalia and five jawans by Pakistani forces

The fight to seek justice for Captain Saurabh Kalia and five jawans of Indian Army, who were captured and tortured inhumanely by the Pakistan Army during the Kargil War in 1999, has reached the United Nations.

A petition has been filed with the United Nation Human Rights Council by the Flags of Honour Foundation, Captain Kalia's father Dr N K Kalia and Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar, against war crimes and the torture inflicted on Captain Kalia and five jawans by Pakistani forces during the Kargil war in 1999.

The petition was filed on December 7 with Juan E Mendez, special rapporteur on torture, of the Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights in Geneva.

The petitioners urged the UNHRC to ensure that a full and independent investigation is initiated immediately and justice is achieved. They also sought appropriate steps to urge the government of Pakistan to conduct an enquiry into the matter and ascertain those responsible for the torture and death of Captain Kalia.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar had earlier raised the issue in Parliament, pointing out the government's apathy towards the martyr's case. He then followed this with a letter to then external affairs minister S M Krishna on August 23 and urged him to take up the case with the UNHRC to declare this heinous act as a war crime and move the International Court of Justice to expose and pressurise Pakistan to identify and punish all the perpetrators of this brutal crime.

Krishna responded by saying, "The matter has been raised in the past with Pakistani authorities and in the appropriate international fora. It is indeed unfortunate that our efforts have not borne fruits. This does not in any way imply that we are giving up our efforts for justice".

On May 15, 1999, Captain Saurabh Kalia had gone for a routine patrol of the Bajrang Post in the Kaksar sector along with five jawans -- Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh.

The Pakistan Army had then fired upon them.

They fought back valiantly but ran out of ammunition and were consequently captured alive by enemies. They were subjected to inhuman torture -- evident from their bodies and post-mortem reports -- in captivity and killed.

The Pakistan government then returned their mutilated bodies on June 9, 1999. Recently, a petition in the Supreme Court was also filed by Dr Kalia to seek justice for his martyr son and five soldiers.

About United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).