Army completes Summery of Evidence in Shopian encounter

The Army has completed the 'Summery of Evidence' against its men involved in the fake encounter in south Kashmir district of Shopian in which three civilians from Rajouri district in Jammu were killed.

While the identity of the soldiers was not disclosed, official sources said that a court martial could take place against two Army personnel after completion of the formalities.

Confirming the development, Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that the process of recording the 'summary of evidence' has been completed. "The same is being examined by the concerned authorities in consultation with legal advisors for proceeding further," he said.

He said that the Indian Army is committed to ethical conduct of operations. "Further details will be shared in a manner so as not to prejudice the proceedings under Army Law," Col Kalia said late last night.

The Army had on July 18, 2020 claimed to have killed three unidentified militants in an orchard at Amshipora in Shopian. However, after the pictures of the slain militants did rounds on social media, the families of the deceased refuted these allegations. The families claimed that the three had no links to militants and were working in Shopian as labourers.

Following these claims, the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police ordered separate inquiries into the matter.

A formal inquiry into the killing of the three youth began in August. The Court of Inquiry, which completed its investigation in September, found out 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 were contravened. Disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act were initiated against the accused personnel.

Meanwhile, a police team was on August 13 sent to Rajouri to collect the DNA samples of family members to match them with samples of those killed in the encounter. The bodies of the three youth, identified as Abrar Ahmed, Imtiyaz Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar, were exhumed in October and handed over to their families after the DNA samples matched.