M A I N   N E W S

This gift is simply ‘unbeerable’
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Poonch, January 11
In an unusual event, 13 Sector of the Army gave beer bottles to students for winning various competitions during a function held to mark the theme of this year’s Army Day — The Nation Above All — in Thannamandi area of Rajouri district.

The Army Day is to be celebrated on January 15.

Local sources told The Tribune that the Army’s Thanamandi-based 13 Sector gave beer bottles to students of various schools who won in different competitions, including ring contest and National Anthem competition.

They added that the senior officer of the Army reportedly gave “Golden Eagle” beer bottles as a winning prize to 25 students. Interestingly, the winning students, reportedly, also comprised 11 girls.

“I participated in a ring competition in the function organised by the Army and won a prize. After I opened it, I found it was a liquor bottle. When I told my parents about the same, they got really furious and also abused me,” a student said on the condition on anonymity.

“This is shocking. They shouldn’t have distributed beer as a prize. What message do they want to convey by this gesture?” the mother of a winner asked.

“This will definitely not go well with these tender brains. They (Army) should not have done this,” she added.

A senior police officer confirmed to The Tribune that incident had happened. However, he was quick to add that this did not constitute any offence as beer is not covered under the Drugs Act.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Jammu-based Defence spokesperson told The Tribune over the phone that “no such prize was given to the students”.