Kargil hero Saurabh Kalia's father approaches UNHRC

The father of Kargil hero Captain Saurabh Kalia has filed a petition before the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) demanding justice for his son, who was captured and brutally killed by the Pakistani Army during the war in 1999.

Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry said it would look at the nature of N K Kalia’s petition as the UNHRC looks into only inter-state issues raised by its members.

In his petition, Kalia urged the global body to ensure full and independent investigation into the case and also to conduct inquiries into the matter and find out the people responsible for his son’s death. He termed his son’s death as a war crime. He had recently moved the Supreme Court seeking its direction to the government to raise his son’s case at the International Court of Justice at Hague.

He alleged that his son was captured as a prisoner of war but was killed in a gruesome manner in violation of the Geneva Convention. Captain Kalia and five other soldiers of his patrolling team were captured alive on May 15, 1999, by Pakistani troops and kept in captivity where they were tortured and their bodies mutilated. Their bodies were handed over later. The army has promised full support to Kalia’s family.

Meanwhile, BJP Vice President Shanta Kumar has sought justice for Kalia, saying: “For over 13 years, the family of Captain Kalia has been raising the issue at various national and international fora so that Pakistan could be punished for the heinous crime .”