Next likely Indian army chief facing murder charges

Lt Gen Bikram Singh, currently the senior most lieutenant general of the Indian army, who has been tipped to replace army chief VK Singh, is facing a murder charge in the Indian-Held Kashmir High Court. Bikram is allegedly involved in staging a 2001 shootout in Kashmir in which the Indian army claimed to have killed a foreign militant, but later a case was filed in the IHK High Court, claiming that the man killed was not a foreign militant, but a resident of Machil area of IHK. Bikram was then brigading the 5 Sector Rashtriya Rifles unit headquartered Islamabad district of the occupied territory. The shootout took place in Janglat Mandi under Bikram Singh’s control.
Later, a writ petition filed by a Kashmiri woman, Zaituna, had said the youth, killed in the March 1, 2001, shootout was not a foreign militant and in fact, was Zaituna’s son Abdullah Butt. When the incumbent army chief, VK Singh’s attention was brought to the writ petition filed by a Kashmiri mother against Bikram, he refused to comment. “The report about Bikram Singh is not with us. When it comes to us, we will let you know,” the army chief told reporters in New Delhi.
The petition seeks investigation into the case and exhumation of the youth for DNA test.
“The photographs of the victim taken by police must also be shown to the family for identification,” the petitioner said.
The court in its order on Oct 13, 2011, asked the puppet administration of Omar Abdullah and Indian Defence Ministry to file their responses to the petition and sought all records pertaining to the case for perusal. Asked if the allegations could affect the chances of Bikram for the top job, the army chief said, “I have got no clue on his.”