On March 6, a Kashmiri village was cordoned off by army soldiers as they received an information that terrorists have found shelter in the area. However, the operation has to be stopped as a young girl was seriously unwell.
Officers stopped the cordon and search operation (CASO) at Kralkhod village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and sent a medical officer to take care of the 11-year-old. Captain Sanjana Sharma, a resident medical officer found the teenager lying on the floor with her jaws clenched and a high pulse rate which are signs of seizures.
Captain Sanjana told that she checked her vitals and found her pulse rate to be very high. She suffered a bout of seizures. Their main focus was to stabilise her condition. Once her condition was stabilised, they asked her parents to take her to a district hospital and seek help of a neurologist.
Officials said that when they were lining up male population of the village for identification then two men approached an Army officer and told them about a girl who medical condition was serious at their home in the CASO area.
Army officers couldn’t find any terrorist that day. Col. Kapil Mohan Sehgal put a halt on the search and immediately asked Captain Sharma to examine the girl. However, he was not disappointed with the day’s proceedings. He said that fighting terrorism is a top agenda for the Army in Kashmir but saving an innocent life is still their topmost priority.
Major General Rashim Bali agreed with Colonel’s view. He said that there are no regrets. He is General Officer-in Command of Victor Force, which supervises the security situation in south and central Kashmir. He said that operations can wait but saving lives of innocent people cannot. He also appreciated the presence of mind of his colleagues.
Captain Sharma said that medical officers often act as emergency response teams for villages and the villagers also trust the Army. He also mentioned that they receive most cases of burn injuries due to the use of ‘kangris’ (fire pot) during winter season.
