New Delhi: The Brigade commander of 12th Brigade at Uri, which was the target of the deadly terror attack on September 18 that claimed the lives of 19 soldiers, has not been removed but "side-stepped" for an inquiry.
"The Brigade Commander has been `side-stepped` for fair, comprehensive and objective inquiry," an Indian Army source told IANS.
Refuting some news reports that Brigadier K Somashanker had been removed, he said this was part of the protocol of enquiry.
Side-stepping means that the officer being attached with some other unit until the inquiry is over.
This action is part of the inquiry ordered after the terror attack on the Army camp in the Uri town of Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 19 soldiers were killed.
After the attack on September 18, an initial investigation had suggested the possibility of the Pakistani terrorists being guided to the attack site by someone familiar with the layout of the 12 Infantry Brigade headquarters and the exact location of troops.
The Indian Express had quoted sources as saying that the terrorists even knew about the location of the office and residence of the brigade commander.
Earlier, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar admitted that "something must have been wrong" because of which the Uri terror attack took place, and added that if required India is capable of "knee-jerk reaction."
"Something must have been wrong. Though I will not go into details of it because it is a very sensitive matter. When something goes wrong while you try to correct it you should also ensure that it does not happen again," Parrikar said.
India blamed Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM for the Uri attack, which heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. India conducted surgical strikes along the Line of Control on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 and destroyed terror launch pads.
