Antony orders new probe into army officer’s ‘mysterious’ death

CHANDIGARH - Defence Minister A.K. Antony has ordered a fresh inquiry into the circumstances leading to the mysterious death of a decorated young army officer Captain Sumit Kohli.

In a communication to the mother of the officer, Veena Kohli, received here Tuesday, Antony has said that he has sought a fresh inquiry into the death of Captain Kohli.

Ironically, the defence minister’s communication to Veena Kohli clearly mentioned that the death of Sumit Kohli happened under “mysterious” circumstances. This is contrary to the earlier probe by army authorities which stated that Captain Kohli committed suicide with his AK-47 rifle.

Veena Kohli said she believes her son was “murdered” at an army residential complex in Jammu and Kashmir’s Lolab Valley, near the Line of Control (LoC) where the captain was posted in 2006.

Captain Kohli was decorated with the Shaurya Chakra - the third highest peace time gallantry medal - on Republic Day 2006. He was found dead with a bullet wound April 30 the same year. He was serving with the 18 Rashtriya Rifles in the militancy-infested Lolab valley.

The mother alleged that the army had tarnished the image of her son by claiming he committed suicide. She alleged that Sumit had come to know about the shootouts staged by his senior officers in Jammu and Kashmir and this could have led to his death.

She has demanded an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into his death, saying she has “no faith in an army inquiry”.

Veena Kohli had met Antony at his residence in New Delhi Aug 28 and sought justice in the case.

“I want the honour of my son to be restored. I want an independent inquiry by CBI. I have no faith in an army inquiry,” Veena Kohli said.

The mother had filed a Right to Information (RTI) application but was denied a reply because the RTI Act doesn’t apply in Jammu and Kashmir. She later moved the Delhi High Court that instructed the army to fetch the post-mortem report and related documents of her son.

“The autopsy raised my suspicion. There are two medical reports contradicting each other. One says the wound was on the left side and the other says it was on the right side of the chin. There has been no forensic examination,” she said.

The inquiry report, she said, lacks even the basic details of circumstantial evidence.

The Kohli family suffered another tragedy a day after Sumit’s death when his shocked father suffered a stroke and died after the captain’s cremation here.