Army saw 1,248 cases of CFVs so far this year: Def Min

The Army reported 1,248 cases of ceasefire violations (CFVs) and four casualties along the Line of Control this year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Monday.

In a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Singh said January saw 203 cases of CFVs, followed by 215 in February.

There were 267 cases of CFVs in March and the Army reported three casualties. April and May reported 234 and 221 cases of CFVs, respectively.

June recorded 108 cases of CFVs with one battle casualty.

Appropriate retaliation to the ceasefire violations, as required, has been carried out by the Indian Army, Singh said.

"Also all violations of ceasefire and infiltration are taken up with Pakistani authorities at the appropriate level through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meeting, directorate generals of military operations talks as well as diplomatic channels between the two countries," the defence minister said.

In response to a separate question, the Army said it sustained 34 fatal casualties in its counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir from 2016 to June 2019.

Twelve casualties were reported by Assam Rifles/Army from 2016 to June 2019 during counter-insurgency operations in northeast India.

Replying to another question, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said during the last two years (2017 and 2018), 36 members of Parliament had applied to purchase Army's disposal vehicle.

The vehicles were made available to all the members who had applied.