Three civilians picked up for questioning in ambush attack found dead in J&K’s Poonch

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday said that legal action has been initiated following the death of three civilians, who were picked up by the Indian Army for questioning in connection with Wednesday's terror attack.

“The death of three civilians was reported yesterday in Baffliaz of Poonch District. The medico-legal formalities were conducted and legal action in this matter has been initiated by the appropriate authority. Government has announced compensation for each of the deceased,'' J&K Department of Information & Public Relations announced on micro-blogging site X.

It further said that the government has also announced appointments to the next of kin of each deceased.

The families of the trio have alleged that they were tortured to death by the army after the terror attack on Wednesday in which four soldiers lost their lives and two were injured.

The deceased civilians identified as Safeer Hussain, Mohammad Showket and Mohammad Shabir, all residents of village Topa, Surankote, were among nine people reportedly picked up by the army for questioning in connection with Wednesday's attack.

Muhammad Siddique, uncle of Showkat, alleged that the trio were ‘mercilessly killed’ by the army in the Mall post camp.

“The army men picked up several civilians from their homes on Friday morning besides summoning a few of them to their camp over the phone,” he was quoted by several media outlets as saying.

A few purported video clips of the detained men being tortured show army soldiers spraying chili powder on their buttocks. Another video shows army soldiers pushing and beating up a man with what looks like a plastic cane while he is pleading with them to spare him.

However, the veracity of the videos couldn’t be independently verified.

Reports said the deaths of civilians triggered protests in the area with the locals seeking justice. Mobile internet has been suspended in Poonch district following the alleged custodial deaths.

Political parties in J&K demanded an impartial probe into the civilian deaths with former chief minister Mehboob Mufti alleging foul play.

She said that following the killing of army soldiers, 15 locals were apprehended, with three bodies being discovered under suspicious circumstances while twelve others have been hospitalized with some in critical condition.

With a largely Gujjar and Bakerwal population, the village of Topa is situated in the higher reaches of Dera Ki Gali-Bufliaz axis where two Army vehicles were ambushed by three to four heavily armed terrorists on Thursday.

The responsibility of the deadly attack was claimed by the Peoples Anti-Fascist Front, which is believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.