Parrikar hails Macchil case verdict

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar with Rear Adm. Shekah R Mittal, Managing Director of Goa Shipyard Ltd, during his vist to the shipyard in Panaji on Friday.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday hailed Thursday’s military court verdict sentencing five soldiers, including two officers, for life imprisonment for the staged killing of three Kashmiri civilians and passing it off as an anti-militant operation in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010.

When asked for his reaction on the verdict, Mr. Parrikar, who was on a tour of Defence establishments in Vasco on Friday, said: “Military court has done justice. It has taken action against wrongdoing. When there is wrongdoing, there has to be action and punishment.”

Asked by a pressperson whether the action was taken with the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections in mind, Mr. Parrikar said: “Court martial does not depend on elections. It is most inappropriate to link this military court action of punishing a wrongdoing with elections,” he stated.