Army men indicted for excesses

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 18

An Army inquiry has found “prima facie” evidence its men violated powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act during an encounter in Kashmir’s Shopian in which three men were killed. It has initiated disciplinary proceedings.

“Consequently, the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima facie answerable,” read an Army statement. The Army did not explain how exactly the AFSPA was exceeded and the guidelines were contravened.

Shopian encounter

Families of murdered men had continued to proclaim their innocence. Disciplinary action by the Army must be transparent. — Omar Abdullah, NC leader

It was also silent how many Army men were facing action.

On July 18, the Army had said three unidentified militants who had fired at the soldiers were killed in a gunfight in Amshipora, Shopian. Almost a month later, three families in Rajouri alleged the slain men were three missing cousins who had travelled to Shopian to work as labourers, but were killed in a staged encounter.

Following the controversy, both the Army and the police started investigating the case. The police collected DNA samples on August 13. The reports are awaited.

The Army statement said the evidence collected by the inquiry had prima facie indicated that the three unidentified terrorists killed in Amshipora operation were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohd Ibrar, who hailed from Rajouri.

“Their involvement with terrorism or related activities is under investigation by the police,” the statement added.