[Reader-list] Who killed Sumit Kohli and why?

[Aditya Raj Baul]

A mother says her ‘Shaurya Chakra’ son was murdered


By VARINDER BHATIA
Indian Express
Posted online: Sat Aug 28 2010, 11:23 hrs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-mother-says-her-shaurya-chakra-son-was-murdered/673582/


Chandigarh: Veena Kohli, mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee Captain
Sumit Kohli who died under mysterious circumstances four years ago, is
meeting Defence Minister A K Antony in New Delhi tomorrow to demand a
CBI probe into her son’s death.

She alleges that Capt Kohli, who was found dead with a gunshot wound
in Lolab in Kashmir, did not commit suicide — as was claimed, she
says, by the commanding officer of the 18 Rashtriya Rifles — but was
killed because he knew who were behind the killing of four porters in
a fake encounter in Lolab in April 2004. She claims her son had
assured the families of the porters that he would help them get
justice. Subsequently, the Army initiated a probe into the killings.

Captain Kohli, who received the Shaurya Chakra on Republic Day 2006,
was found dead on April 30 the same year. His father, who suffered a
stroke on learning of the death, died a day after his son’s cremation.

According to Veena Kohli, her attempt to seek information on Sumit’s
death, his post-mortem report under the Right to Information Act
failed because the Army took the plea that it did not apply in J&K.
She then moved the Delhi High Court which instructed the Army to
supply the related documents.

“Mere perusal of the Court of Inquiry proceedings and autopsy report
raise suspicion about the death of my son. There are two medical
reports which are contradictory. As per one report, the (bullet) entry
wound was on the left side of the chin. But as per the other report,
the entry wound was on right side of the chin. The post-mortem report
is too generalised, and makes no specific mention of the wounds —
entry wound, exit wound, their shapes and sizes. There is also no
mention of blackening which is quite obvious in case a bullet is fired
from close range,” Kohli said in her representation, a copy of which
is with The Indian Express.

“During the CoI proceedings, only interested witnesses were
summoned... Commanding

Officer of 18 Rashtriya Rifles in his statement asserted that Capt.
Sumit Kohli committed suicide owing to some family problem. He even
quoted that this fact was revealed to him by Brig (retd) R P Singh,
one of our close family friends on telephone, whereas the said officer
denies having spoken to him on this issue. There is no report from the
forensic expert confirming that weapon with which Sumit committed
suicide bore his fingerprints. There is no expert report to confirm
the distance from which the bullet was fired,” the representation
stated.

“...strongly believe that my son has been killed by Army officers to
stop him from revealing their role in the murder of four porters from
Chatha village (J&K) in a fake encounter in the frontier district of
Kupwara. I had even received an anonymous letter purportedly written
by an officer known to my son stating therein that my son had confided
in him that he was being targeted by certain officers,” it said.

“The letter further mentioned that four porters from Chatha hamlet
were killed in fake encounter by men from 18 Rashtriya Rifles posted
in Lolab area of Kupwara. The said illegal killings were done two
years prior to my son’s death under mysterious circumstances. My son
had assured the victims families that he would help them get justice
and had vowed not only to expose the murderers but also ensure they
were punished for taking the lives of innocents. I have been telling
this fact to Army authorities right from the day my son died under
mysterious circumstances,” the representation stated.

Veena Kohli’s lawyer Guneet Chaudhary said “queries were posed to Army
Headquarters but the response too is self-contradictory”.

To a query on the discrepancy in the certificates — one issued by the
Regiment Medical Officer (RMO) said gunshot wound (GSW) was on right
side of the chin while the civil hospital post-mortem said it was on
the left side — the Army replied: “The Medical Case Sheet by the RMO
in respect of Late Captain Sumit Kohli, Shaurya Chakra, mentioned
entry wound seen below chin on left side and GSW head. It may be due
to error in judgment carried out in field conditions by the RMO.
However, the post-mortem report issued by Civil Medical Officer,
Primary Health Centre (PHC), Tekipora which is an authority, mentions
the entry wound below the chin towards the right side which stands
correct. This is further corroborated and found correct from
photographs of the late officer showing wound on the right side below
the chin (exhibits of the Court of Inquiry). Both reports however
mention the exit wound found in Occipital Region”.