Shopian encounter: Bodies of 3 persons to be exhumed, handed over to families, says IGP

A senior police officer on Wednesday said that the bodies of three persons from Rajouri, who were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir district of Shopian in July this year, will be exhumed and handed over to their families.

The development comes days after it was confirmed the DNA samples of three slain persons, who were killed in the alleged fake encounter in Shopian on July 18, have matched with their families from Rajouri.

“As the DNA samples of three dead bodies of Rajouri matched with their family members, therefore these dead bodies will be exhumed and handed over to their families after due process of law,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said on Wednesday evening.

The Army had on July 18 claimed that three militants were killed in an encounter in village Amshipura in Shopian. But, Army initiated an inquiry into the encounter after it was claimed that the slain were from Rajouri and had gone missing. The families of the deceased had claimed that the trio was working as labourers and had gone missing in Amshipura.

Kumar last week said that the DNA samples of three persons have matched with their families from Rajouri.

After completing inquiry into the encounter, the Army said that the investigation has brought out certain prima facie evidence indicating that during the operation, powers vested under the AFSPA 1990 were exceeded and the Do’s and Don’ts of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) as approved by the Supreme Court have been contravened.

In a statement issued earlier this month, the Army said the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable. “The evidence collected by the inquiry has prima-facie indicated that the three unidentified terrorists killed in operation Amshipora were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohd Ibrar, who hailed from Rajouri. Their DNA report is awaited. Their involvement with terrorism or related activities is under investigation by the police,” it said.

“Indian Army is committed to ethical conduct of operations. Further updates on the case will be given periodically without affecting due process of the law of the land,” it added.