Saurabh Kalia was an officer of the Indian Army who died during the Kargil War while being held as a prisoner of war by the Pakistani security forces.[1] He along with five other soldiers of his patrolling team was captured alive and kept in captivity where they were tortured and their bodies mutilated. His schooling took place in the Kendriya Vidyalaya,Holta Camp Palampur. Saurabh graduated in (B.Sc. Med.) from H. P. Agricultural University, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh in 1997. He excelled at school, securing first Division and winning scholarships throughout his academic career. He was selected in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in August 1997 through Combined Defense Services and was commissioned on December 12th, 1998. His first posting was in the 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) in the Kargil Sector. Saurabh arrived there in mid-January, 1999 after reporting at the JAT Regimental Centre, Bareilly on 31 December 1998. In the first two weeks of May 1999, several patrols were conducted in the Kaksar Langpa area of Kargil to check whether the snow had retreated enough for the summer positions to be re-occupied. He was the first Indian army officer to observe and reported large-scale intrusion of Pakistani Army and foreign mercenaries in Indian side of LoC (Kargil). He assumed guard of "Bajrang Post" at the height 13,000-14,000 feet to check infiltration in the Kaksar area. On May 15, 1999 Saurabh Kalia along with five soldiers - Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Baga
Re: Saurabh Kalia was an officer of the Indian Army who died duri
by pravin sarode on Dec 21, 2012 09:11 PM
On May 15, 1999 Saurabh Kalia along with five soldiers - Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh of the 4 Jat Regiment had gone for a routine patrol of the Bajrang Post in the Kaksar sector in the rugged, treeless Ladakh mountains. After a continuous cross fire with Pakistan armed forces from across the LoC, he and his troops ran out of ammunition. They were finally encircled by a platoon of Pakistan rangers and captured alive before any Indian reinforcement could reach for their help. No trace of this entire patrol was left meanwhile Radio Skardu of Pakistan announced that Lt. Saurabh Kalia had been captured by the Pakistani troops. It was after this that India discovered hundreds of guerrillas had established fortified positions on the peaks of the hills deep inside the Indian side of the Line of control, with sophisticated equipment and supply lines back to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Captain Kalia and his men were in captivity for over twenty-two (May 15, 1999 – June 7, 1999) days and subjected to torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9, 1999. The postmortem revealed that the Pakistan army had tortured their prisoners by burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, puncturing eyes before removing them, breaking most of the teeth and bones, fractures of the skull, cutting the lips, chipping of nose, chopping off limbs and private organs of these soldiers besides in
Re: Re: Saurabh Kalia was an officer of the Indian Army who died
by pravin sarode on Dec 21, 2012 09:14 PM
On June 9, 1999, NK Kalia had received the body of his son, Captain Saurabh Kalia, handed over by the Pakistani army to Indian army commanders at the Kargil sector, with evidence of tortur
On 15 June 1999 The Deputy high commissioner of the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi was summoned and a notice for the breach of the Geneva Convention was submitted for the torture and killing of the prisoners of War during the Kargil War.The minister of external affairs Jaswant Singh raised the issue with Sartaj Aziz, the foreign minister of Pakistan for the identifiation and punishment of the guilty, but Pakistan continues to deny the charges of torture.
On 14 December 2012 Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik expressed that Captain Kalia may have died because of weather conditions. He said that he came to know about Captain Saurabh Kalia's case very recently, and added that it is not known whether he was killed with the Pakistani bullet or he died because of the weather. He also said he would like to meet Captain Kalia's father to find out what exactly had happened with his son. The Supreme Court earlier also issued notice to the Centre and sought response within ten weeks on a petition filed by Captain Kalia's father Dr N.K. Kalia.Moved by the torture meted out to his son by Pakistan army, Kalia launched a struggle to declare the act a war crime. Kalia wrote series of letter to then Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh.
Re: Re: Re: Saurabh Kalia was an officer of the Indian Army who d
by pravin sarode on Dec 21, 2012 09:16 PM
Even after more than a decade since their sons death, the Kalia family is trying to get justice from the government and to highlight the war crimes that was committed against their son and other Indian soldiers.[3] N. K. Kalia his father has been following his sons case and wants the act to be declared a war crime by the UN and the people responsible for the war crimes punished as per the rulings of the Geneva convention.[11] However, numerous letters to the Centre have failed to move the government to pursue the matter with the world body. Five other soldiers were tortured and killed along with Capt Kalia. "I am ashamed of being an Indian. The country has spineless leaders,"said NK Kalia. He has also started an online signature campaign to highlight the plight of the war victims.[3]
His father has been moving from pillar to post and has been approaching various national and international organizations to put pressure on Pakistan to identify, book and punish persons responsible for the inhuman and unpardonable crime of keeping his son in captivity for three weeks and subjecting to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from his body. But in spite of his great efforts he is yet to achieve a fruitful result.[11][15]
Mr. Kalia's petition is strongly being pursued by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament who has written to the External Affairs Minister and has raised questions in the parliament on why the Government has not taken up the case of Capt. Saurabh
Re: Re: Re: Re: Saurabh Kalia was an officer of the Indian Army w
by pravin sarode on Dec 21, 2012 09:17 PM
Mr. Kalia's petition is strongly being pursued by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament who has written to the External Affairs Minister and has raised questions in the parliament on why the Government has not taken up the case of Capt. Saurabh Kalia, with the UN Human Rights Council, to declare this act as a war crime and identify and punish all the perpetrators. Read the letter. [[1]] and a subsequent response [[2]]
"In order to declare a war crime, the ministry of defence needs to write to the ministry of external affairs, which then takes up the matter with the UN Human Rights Council. The council then refers the matter to the General Assembly, which can declare war crime. It then goes to the international court of justice. It is the ministry of external affairs that did not follow up the case with the UN" said Colonel (retd) SK Aggarwal, former judge advocate general (JAG) officer.[16][17] UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has accepted a petition seeking an investigation of gruesome torture and killing of Capt. Saurabh Kalia along with five sepoys of his regiment.
Dr Kalia in his efforts to get help from various foreign organisations had, replies from embassies and high commission of various countries.
Britain: We are seeking from the Indian Army a full report of the postmortem, unfortunately without any success so far.
Israel: Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan.
Germany: They had contacted the ministry of external affa
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Saurabh Kalia was an officer of the Indian Ar
by pravin sarode on Dec 21, 2012 09:20 PM
Israel: Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan. Germany: They had contacted the ministry of external affairs and had not received a reply.
Pakistan denied the torture of the six soldiers and rejected India's demand to punish the guilty.
Dr Kalia said that if such events had happened to an American or Israeli soldier then the culprits would have been hounded around the globe. Despite assurances from the government, the cases is still pending and his family plans to pursue the case till the end.[17]
Saurabh Kalia's personal belongings such as photographs, uniforms, shoes and mementoes are kept in a separate room, named as ‘Saurabh Smriti Kaksha’ (a museum), in his house 'Saurabh Niketan' in the hills of Palampur.[18] In his memory the government of the state of Himachal Pradesh has raised a memorial park named as ‘Saurabh Van Vihar’ in an area of 35 acres (140,000 m2) in Palampur and renamed a street in the town as Capt Saurabh Kalia Marg and the locality as 'Saurabh Nagar'.[19] A nursing college in the proposed Vivekanand Medical Research Trust Hospital in Palampur has been raised in his memory.[3] In Amritsar, Kaliya's birthplace his statue has been erected in a memorial.A Liquefied petroleum gas agency has been allotted by the Indian Oil Corporation to the parents of Saurabh Kalia. in 1971 also 3 lakhs bangla girls ended their lives due to pathan army war crimes but prisoners or war were set free after shimala agreement by
Re: Not here please
by pravin sarode on Dec 21, 2012 09:04 PM
not any where on india soil as we must protest captain kalia murder 1999 in kargil conflict
