New Delhi: An Indian Army officer has been dismissed and another slapped five years loss of service after a court martial found them guilty of splashing tomato ketchup on civilians to make them look like dead separatist militants in their bid to get gallantry awards.

Col H S Kohli, Commanding Officer of an artillery regiment, took photographs of civilians splashed with tomato sauce and posing as corpses and gave them to his seniors to stake claim for gallantry award as a proof of separatist killing in 2003 at Bada Nagadun near Silchar in Assam, an Army spokesman said in New Delhi today (Nov 26, 2004).

The fraud was discovered when the claim was being processed following which court martial proceedings were launched against him.

At the end of the proceedings, Kohli was dismissed and a Major, whose name was not revealed, slapped five years loss of service and a severe reprimand for conniving with the Colonel. "The two were found guilty of reporting an encounter which had not taken place," the spokesman said.

Kohli became the first Army officer to be dismissed for faking an encounter.

This is the second instance in which Army officers fabricated encounters to win medals for themselves and their units, after the Siachen fake killings. The court martial proceedings on the Siachen episode are still continuing.