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Army does not rule out sabotage
in Mamoon inferno

The Army has not ruled out sabotage as the cause of the fire, which destroyed an ammunition dump in Mamoon Cantonment on Sunday night. It has begun a probe into the cause of the fire.

Gurdaspur district administration officials said there was no loss of life or major damage to property of civilians. However, the number of army causalities was not known, as officers in Pathankot are tight-lipped on the issue, leaving it to the army headquarters to make an announcement.

Pathankot Sub-Divisional Magistrate K K Garg, after meeting senior army officers, said the high temperature was being touted as a prime reason for the incident. However, sabotage was not ruled out.

The army has sealed off the area and is not allowing the civil and police authorities to inspect the spot. Though the fire is said to have been extinguished, smoke could be seen from a distance on Monday.

Nearby residents are upset that they were not warned, educated or trained to deal with any such crisis.

Defence and civil administration officials are trying to boost the confidence of the people

Army jawans and people are searching the village and surrounding fields to collect the remains of shells that went off and twisted pieces of metal from splinters.

Mamoon village has a population of about 20,000, surrounded by ammunition dumps, suitably camouflaged on three sides, while the Chakki rivulet flows on the fourth side.

In 1955, the government decided to set up an ammunition dump here to cater to the needs of the army, deployed along the Pakistan and China borders. After the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars, the dump's capacity was increased and at many places, it is just 100 meters from civilian settlements.

Recently, the height of the dump's boundary wall was increased and the wall was also strengthened. This may explain why there was no loss of civilian life.

Meanwhile, reporters who had gone to cover the incident, were manhandled by an army brigadier. Two reporters were also detained.

The reporters managed to reach the spot along with fire tenders. They interviewed a colonel and began to take pictures of the site. The brigadier objected to their presence and forced them to hand over the video tapes, leading to an argument.

The reporters were taken into custody by the military police. They were subsequently handed over to the civil authorities in Pathankot, who released them.

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