Uri attack martyrs' kin demand justice, exemplary action against perpetrators

New Delhi: Even as kin of the soldiers martyred in the Uri terror attack sought justice and exemplary action against the perpetrators, Union Minister and former Army chief V.K. Singh on Monday said that though the “lacunae” which led to the attack at an army base in Uri need to be investigated, he advised the Indian Army to decide on its response “coolly” with proper planning.

The mother of a soldier killed in the attack at the army camp in Uri demanded justice and strict punishment for the perpetrators as a pall of gloom descended on his village in West Bengal’s Howrah district. “I demand justice and strict punishment for those who killed my son,” mother of Gangadhar Dolui said.

“My son rang me up a few days ago. He said he is alright. I don’t belive that he is no more,” the grieving mother said. Another soldier Biswajit Garai, who hailed from South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, was also killed in the terror attack in Uri.

Meanwhile Mr Singh, who is Minister of State for External Affairs, said, “having seen the army closely, I feel, it needs to be analysed as to what happened there...It needs to be investigated how the incident took place and what were the lacunas.”

“From the Army’s side, alertness is required. The Kashmir situation needs to be thought about. The action has to be taken without getting influenced by emotions, anger. It has to be taken coolly and with proper planning,” Mr Singh added. He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have already spoken about the action which will be taken.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Government does not want to take any “knee-jerk” reaction in the wake of terror attack in Uri allegedly by terror groups based in Pakistan while it was considering various options. Sources said there will be no “knee-jerk” reaction “anytime soon” even though 18 soldiers.

Action will be taken only after proper planning, coordination, exploring all options and taking everyone concerned into confidence, sources said. They recalled that in the case of Mynamar last year, the Army carried out an operation along the border against NSCN-K militants involved in the killing of 18 soldiers in Manipur in June, 2015 only after a week. “Here, we have a hostile Pakistani establishment. So any hasty action is completely ruled out,” a source said.