NEW DELHI: A day after the Supreme Court directed all states to take swift action to protect Kashmiris from being targeted in different parts of the country in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, children of two Army officers took an unprecedented step to move the apex court for protection of human rights of army personnel against attacks from stone-pelters in the Kashmir valley.

The petitioners— 19-year-old Preeti Kedar Gokhale and 20-year-old Kajal Mishra, children of a serving Lt Colonel and a retired Naib Subedar respectively—said the Centre and state government have failed to put in place any mechanism to address human rights violations of armed personnel who are targeted by the locals while discharging their duty. They said instead of taking action against stone-pelters, the state government recently decided to withdraw 9760 FIRs registered against them.

“More often than not, FIRs are filed against soldiers if they take any action in retaliation or in self-defence against the perpetrators of stone-pelting. However, no similar action is taken against the perpetrators of violence against army personnel,” the petition said.

