India says Pakistan Army mutilated Indian soldiers

New Delhi, May 3 (IANS): India on Wednesday accused the Pakistani Army of “active participation” in the mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers and said Islamabad’s denials carried no credibility. Hours after New Delhi summoned Pakistan’s envoy and gave him “actionable evidence” on the basis of blood samples and trail leading to Pakistan, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley used strong words at a media briefing to say that Pakistani troops were complicit in the Monday brutality. “I think the denial itself carries no credibility because the entire gambit of circumstances clearly indicates that this barbaric act of first killing two of our soldiers and then mutilating their bodies has been carried out with active participation of the (Pakistani) Army,” he said. “The fact that cover firings are provided, those who carry out this act are helped to escape on such heavily guarded border where posts are within few metres of each other, this can’t happen without the protection, or participation, or active indulgence of the (Pakistan) Army,” he added. Asked what New Delhi planned to counter the Pakistani action, Jaitley replied: “Place your trust on our Army.” His statement came after New Delhi said it had “actionable evidence” of the Pakistan Army’s involvement in the killings on the Krishna Ghati sector on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay said the blood samples of the slain personnel and a blood trail clearly showed that Pakistani soldiers returned beyond the LoC after committing the crime. The “actionable evidence” was given to Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, who summoned him to the Foreign Office and conveyed India’s outrage. Jaishankar demanded that Pakistan takes appropriate action against the soldiers and commanders responsible for it. Baglay said blood samples of an Indian soldier and a BSF trooper who were slain were collected and the trail of blood showed the killers returned across the LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries. India says a Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan was to blame for the killing of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar. Asked repeatedly whether the blood samples and the trail included blood of Pakistani soldiers and how the government was sure these were of the Indian personnel, the spokesperson repeated the written formulation on the involvement of Pakistani soldiers on their return to Pakistan. Baglay said the High Commissioner denied the Pakistan Army was involved in the mutilation incident but gave an assurance that he would convey India’s outrage to his government. The spokesperson again ruled out any third party involvement in attempts to resolve the Kashmir issue. He said the issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan bilaterally.