Army operation in Leh illegal: Omar

Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that the Army operation in Leh was illegal as the twin districts of Leh and Kargil were out of the preview of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). “Leh and Kargil are the only two districts in the state where there is no AFSPA. If the Army did conduct the operation, it’s so completely illegal. Because there is absolutely no legal cover for them to do the sort of activity they did in Leh,” Omar told journalists at the sidelines of a function organized by Jammu and Kashmir High Court, here at SK international convention complex this afternoon. “In any other part of the state, they would have had recourse to cover under AFSPA. And that’s precisely why we have been talking about the need to make certain modifications and hopefully over the time bring certain areas out of purview of Special Powers Act,” he added.Pertinently, police had filed a rioting case against the army as the latter barged into three hotels in Leh during the intervening night of May 30 and 31 and allegedly harassed the tourists.Army, however, had maintained that the raids were part of the stepped up vigil following intelligence inputs that suggest militant presence in the area.Army’s Srinagar based spokesman, J S Brar had also claimed that the searches were carried out after receiving inputs that the satellite phones were being used in the area.The police reached quickly and refuted the Army’s claim about the militant presence.”The Police is looking into the motives of the army personnel who searched some hotels in Leh during the intervening night of 30/31.05.2011, since the Armed Force Special Power Act is not in force in Leh,” the police spokesperson had said.Replying to a question of the exiting Juvenile Justice Act, Omar said that the Act needs to be revised and brought at par with the National Juvenile Justice Act. “I have already instructed department of law and justice to take a look at it. It’s in the pipeline,” he said.