Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): The J&K Police today said that the bodies of three youths from Rajouri, who were killed in an enounter in Amshipora area of Shopian on July 18, will be exhumed and handed over to their families after due legal procedure.
“Since DNA samples (of the slain trio) matched with their families, three bodies will be exhumed and handed over to families after due process of law,” Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range), Vijay Kumar told NVI.
The development comes just a day after DGP Dilbagh Singh said that police probe into the Amshipora encounter was in final stage. The families of slain trio had appealed that the bodies of their wards be exhumed and handed over to them since DNA samples have matched.
“We have been called by the Rajouri administration for consultations. We demand immediate exhumation of bodies of our sons, compensation and punishment to those involved in fake encounter,” said Muhammad Yousuf, father of one of the youths killed in Amshipora.
The Army had ordered a Court of Inquiry into the encounter last month after the three families came forward to say the youths were cousins — one of them was reportedly 16 years old — who had gone to Kashmir for work and had not been in touch with his family since July 17 night.
On September 18, the Army had said in a statement that “the dos and don’ts of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) as approved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court have been contravened” in the course of the operation.
The Army did not elaborate on exactly how the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was exceeded and the guidelines were contravened, but said that disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act will be initiated against those found prima facie answerable.
“The inquiry has prima facie indicated that the three unidentified militants killed in Op Amshipora were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohd Ibrar, who hailed from Rajouri,” the statement read.
-ARK
