Why was the guard of honor not given to Agniveer soldier Amritpal Singh?
There is an uproar over 19-year-old Agniveer Amritpal Singh, who sacrificed his life while on duty in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. It is alleged that the Indian Army did not give any respect and tribute to Agniveer Jawan, this is being called an insult to the martyr. Besides, questions are also being raised on Agniveer Yojana.
Indian Youth Congress National President Srinivasan BV wrote on Twitter, ‘Amritpal Singh, a resident of Punjab, joined the army as Agniveer. He was posted in Kashmir, he was martyred after being shot on 10 October. It is sad that Amritpal Ji, who was martyred for the country, was not even given a final farewell with military honors. His mortal remains were brought by an army constable and two soldiers. Apart from this, no army unit even came. Even his mortal remains were brought in a private ambulance instead of an army vehicle. This is an insult to the martyrs of the country.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate wrote, ’19-year-old Amritpal Singh from Punjab joined the army as Agniveer. He was martyred after being shot in Kashmir on 10 October. Here his sisters are giving him a shoulder. Neither military honor nor any army unit for them. They are martyrs – but this is the reality of Agniveer Yojana.
Islamist journalist Wasim Akram Tyagi wrote, ‘Amritpal Singh was recruited in the army under the Agneepath scheme, he was martyred while performing his duty. The irony is that he was not even given a final farewell with military honors.
Leftist journalist Ranvijay Singh wrote, ‘An Agniveer posted in Kashmir died after being shot. Agniveer’s name was Amritpal Singh. A constable and a soldier took his body to the village. According to reports, no salute was given by the Army during his funeral. The local police saluted him after the intervention of the enlightened people of the society.
Leftist Ashok Kumar Pandey wrote, ‘At least the martyred Agniveer soldiers should be given ‘martyr’ status, respect and a lump sum amount/pension should be arranged for their dependents. What is the benefit that when we were a poor country, we used to give pensions to soldiers, pensions to dependents of martyrs, petrol pumps, and military honors, and today when there are claims of New India, there is nothing to give. Do not take away the pride of the families who lost their young children for the country.
Sadaf Afreen wrote, ‘Agniveer Amritpal Singh (19), was posted in Kashmir! He was martyred after being shot! His mortal remains were brought by 1 constable and 2 army personnel in a private ambulance. Neither army vehicle nor any salute was given by the army! When people raised their voices, the local police saluted him!
Hansraj Meena wrote, ’19-year-old Amritpal Singh from Punjab became ‘Agniveer’ on 10 December 2022. Martyred after being shot in Jammu and Kashmir on 11 October. The dead body of the soldier arrived in an ambulance instead of an army vehicle. Guard of honor was also not given by the army contingent. This is an insult to the martyr. Shameful.’
Congress supporter Sandeep Singh wrote, ‘Amritpal Singh, a resident of Punjab, joined the army as Agniveer. He was posted in Kashmir, he was martyred after being shot on 10 October. It is sad that Amritpal Ji, who was martyred for the country, was not even given a final farewell with military honors. His mortal remains were brought by an army constable and two soldiers. Apart from this, no army unit even came. Even his mortal remains were brought in a private ambulance instead of an army vehicle. This is an insult to the martyrs of the country.
Congress supporter Shantanu wrote, ’19-year-old Amritpal Singh from Punjab joined the army as Agniveer in December 2022. He was martyred this Wednesday while on duty in Jammu and Kashmir. He was not given any respect or honor because according to the Agniveer rule brought by the Modi government, he is not a government servant.
Samajwadi Party’s national president Akhilesh Yadav wrote, ‘The mortal remains of Punjab’s Agniveer Shaheed Amritpal Singh received neither military honors nor state honors. This is a side effect of faulty military recruitment. Soldiers should get their due respect in every situation. We pay our respects to this martyrdom. We reiterate our opposition to the Agniveer Scheme and demand the restoration of traditional recruitment. We do not accept any compromise with the security of the country and the future of the country’s youth. Jai Hind!’
Apart from this, National President of Azad Samaj Party Chandra Shekhar Azad, Samajwadi Party supporter Ashwini Yadav, Harsh Chhikara, Puneet Kumar Singh, Ramandeep Singh Mann have also raised questions on Agniveer Yojana.
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During investigation, we searched related keywords on Google and found a report published on Amar Ujala on 11 October 2023. According to the report, Constable (Agniveer) Amritpal Singh was on duty as a sentry near the LOC in Mankot area of Mendhar sub-division of Poonch district. During this time he died due to bullet injury. Confirming the matter, a police officer said that whether the incident happened due to accidental fire, suicide or any other reason is being confirmed.
According to the report published on Dainik Jagran, Agniveer Amritpal Singh was shot while on duty and died on the spot. Officials said police have taken cognizance of the incident and started investigation. The police is busy revealing the reasons for his death. Police are investigating whether the soldier died by suicide or due to some other reason.
After this we found a tweet on the official X account of the 16th Corps of the Indian Army ‘White Knight Corps’. This post dated October 14, 2023 reads, ‘The death of Agniveer Amritpal Singh on October 11, 23 is an unfortunate incident. Amritpal died due to self-inflicted bullet injury while on duty in Rajouri sector. Due to which he was seriously injured. The mortal remains of the junior commissioned officer along with four other ranks were taken home in a civil ambulance. Army soldiers also participated with him in the funeral. Since the cause of death was self-inflicted injury. In such a situation, the last rites were performed as per the current policy, in which no guard of honor or military funeral procedure was done. The Indian Army expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.
After this, we found a tweet on the official X account of the Indian Army. In this post dated October 15, 2023, it has been told that Agniveer Amritpal Singh had committed suicide by shooting himself while on duty. A guard of honor was not given at Amritpal’s funeral as this honor is not given in case of death due to self-inflicted injuries.
The Indian Army has said that in the event of a soldier’s death due to suicide or self-inflicted injury, the soldier is given due respect regardless of the mode of entry into the Army. However, such cases are not entitled to military funeral as per Army Order 1967. This policy is being followed continuously without any discrimination. According to the data released by the Army, 100-140 soldiers have died every year since 2001. These deaths are due to suicide/self-inflicted injuries. In similar cases, military funerals were not allowed. Apart from financial assistance for last rites, help is given according to the rank of the deceased.
Since the Indian Army has stated the cause of death in this post as suicide, we tried to find out whether guard of honor is really not given in such cases.
During investigation, we first found a report published on TV9 Bharatvarsh on March 26, 2022. According to this report, a soldier Dhananjay Yadav, resident of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, had died under suspicious circumstances. The army said that Dhananjay Yadav had committed suicide while the family members said that he was martyred in the terrorist attack. In this case the Army had refused to honor the Guard of Honour. After which the family members kept the body on the road and blocked it. Arson and stone pelting were also done. However, after violent protests by family members, Dhananjay Yadav was cremated with military honors.
Apart from this, we found a report published on Zee News on 26 August 2023. According to this report, soldier Karan Singh, resident of Churu, Rajasthan, had committed suicide. After this, the family refused to accept the body due to the demands of giving martyr status to the soldier and performing the last rites with a guard of honour, etc. After this, the Army called Karan Singh’s family members to Kolkata and assured them of cooperation regarding the incident and on the issue of Guard of Honor, they told that as per Army rules, Guard of Honor cannot be given to a soldier who commits suicide and guidelines were also shown. After this, an agreement was reached in the talks and the last rites of the soldier were performed.
Hence, it is clear from the investigation that in case of suspicious death and suicide, there is no provision of Guard of Honor from the Army. It is worth noting that Dhananjay Yadav and Karan Singh had joined the Army before the Agniveer scheme and in their cases also the Army had denied Guard of Honor, that is, this rule was already in force before the Agniveer recruitment.
| Claim | Amritpal Singh was not given guard of honor because he was a Agniveer |
| Claimed by | Srinivas BV, Supriya Shrinate, Sadaf Afreen, Akhilesh Yadav, Sandeep Singh and others. |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
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