Zero tolerance on irregularity in armed forces' behaviour: Govt

Against the backdrop of the alleged involvement of BSF personnel in the killing of a teenager in Srinagar, government today said it followed a "zero tolerance" policy towards aberrations in armed forces' behaviour with public and such incidents will be dealt with strongly.

"As far as armed forces' presence in Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, we have a zero tolerance policy towards how they behave with the public. Any aberration in their behaviour in such aspects is dealt with in a strong manner," minister of state for defence MM Pallam Raju said here.

The minister was commenting on the incident in Srinagar where a 16 year-old boy, Zahid Farooq, was allegedly shot dead by a BSF soldier Lakhvinder Kumar on February 5.
     
Kumar, belonging to the 68th Battalion of the BSF, has been placed under suspension along with 14 other personnel who were with him when the incident occurred.

The BSF also shunted out the battalion's commandant RK Birdi to the headquarters in Sanatnagar and approached the home ministry for his suspension over his alleged role in the killing.

Kumar has alleged that he had opened fire at the teenager on Birdi's orders.