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Mistaking an officer of the paramilitary Border Security Force officer for a fidayeen (suicide squad militant), an army sentry sprayed bullets on his vehicle near Langate in the north Kashmir town of Handwara in Kupwara district, killing him on the spot, early on Sunday.
Police sources in Srinagar said a sentry guarding the main gate of an army camp at Langate opened fire on the Maruti Gypsy in which BSF Deputy Commandant Satish Kumar was travelling, killing him on the spot.
A BSF spokesman told rediff.com that Kumar was leading a company of the 113 Battalion to Handwara from Srinagar in connection with some electoral duties.
Senior BSF officers visited the spot on Sunday morning and met the army officers at Langate.
Giving details of the incident, a defence spokesman in Srinagar said the sentry had noticed some suspicious movement by an individual about 100 metres from the camp's gate. He challenged the individual, who ran towards the orchid area. So the sentry opened fire in that direction.
About the same time a Maruti Gypsy approached the gate with its headlights on. So the sentry challenged the vehicle. Though the vehicle stopped, the headlights were not turned off, nor did anyone alight from it or respond to the sentry.
This made the already edgy man even more suspicious since there have been several cases of vehicle-borne militants attacking security posts in the Kashmir valley and he opened fire on the vehicle.
Unfortunately for the BSF men, according to the defence spokesman, the army camp had been given no prior intimation about their visit, as is the normal practice. So the sentry was not expecting the deputy commandant.
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