Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday asked the Army to hand over the man responsible for the death of 13-year-old Dilshan
to the state police to enable her government to deal with the case in accordance with law.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday also issued notices to the Union defence secretary and the Chennai police commissioner,
seeking a report on the killing of the teenaged boy, according to news agency reports. Meanwhile, Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh told reporters in New
Delhi that strict action would be taken against any Army personnel found guilty of killing the boy at Fort St. George in Chennai on July 3. Ms
Jayalalithaa, while speaking to reporters in New Delhi, said, “It is quite clear that someone from within the Army enclave shot at the boy. Our
chief secretary has written to the general officer commanding (in Chennai) requesting that the person responsible for the unpardonable act be
handed over to the state police to be dealt with according to the law.”
On Wednesday afternoon, on the sidelines of a function in the capital, Gen. Singh said, “Whoever is found to have committed any mistake in the
incident—-whether it be any officer or jawan (soldier)——strict action will be taken against him.”
Army sources also said that the entire Army should not be considered guilty if an Armyman is being questioned in connection with the death of the
boy. The boy was killed in firing on Sunday when he was trying to pluck mangoes from a tree inside an Army compound at Chennai.
The NHRC on Wednesday asked both the Union defence secretary and the Chennai police commissioner to submit detailed reports in the matter within
four weeks, according to news agency reports.