The residents of Gundibagh village of Kakapora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday accused the army of attempting to torch the house of a local militant, even as the army refuted the allegations.
The residents alleged that army personnel from a nearby camp surfaced in the village in the dead of night and tried to torch the house of Jaish-e-Muhammad millitant Adil alias Waqas.
“They (army) put some paddy hay around the house, sprinkled kerosene, and then set it aflame,” alleged a local, who didn’t wish to be named for fear of reprisal.
He said some neighbours noticed the fire and immediately put it out.
Meanwhile, a purported video of the incident has gone viral on social media in which people could be seen putting out the fire.
A man could be heard appealing the people to spread the video as much as possible.
District police chief Mohammad Aslam Choudhary informed that the police department has registered a case and initiated an inquiry into the matter.
Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the allegations were baseless. “These are baseless allegations. No army personnel are involved,” he said.
