AN Indian army officer has been dismissed and another suspended after a court martial found they splashed tomato sauce on civilians to make them look like dead separatist rebels.
An army spokesman said Colonel H.S. Kohli took photos of civilians covered with ketchup and posing as corpses and gave them to his senior officers as proof of separatist killings in the revolt-hit northeastern state of Assam.
"The colonel tried to use the photographs to back his claim for a gallantry award and was subsequently tried and found guilty in a court martial," the spokesman said.
"The colonel lost his job while a major who connived with him was suspended for five years."
The fraud came to light when scrutiny of records following the colonel's claim for a gallantry medal showed no deaths ever occcurred.
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