Duo arrested in connection with Shopian fake encounter sent to judicial remand

A local court sent two suspects arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police in connection with the Shopian fake encounter case to eight days of judicial remand on Tuesday.

While confirming the arrests, a police official said the duo was sent to eight days of judicial remand.

Sources told DH the arrested persons are local collaborators who have been detained by the police on charges of “criminal conspiracy” under relevant sections in an FIR.

“They are being questioned to reveal the chain of events. They were also questioned for their involvement in the fake encounter by the Army’s court of inquiry,” they said.

Three labourers from Rajouri district of Jammu region, whose identities have been established after DNA matching with their family members, were killed by the Army’s 62-Rashtriya Rifles in Amshipora village of Shopian district on July 18 in a fake encounter.

However, the Amshipora encounter came under scrutiny after families from Rajouri claimed that the three killed were their kin and labourers by profession. Following these claims, the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police ordered separate inquiries into the matter.

The DNA samples of the families were lifted on August 13 and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination and comparison with the “three unidentified slain militants”. On September 25, the DNA sample reports of the three slain persons matched with their parents.

On September 18, the Army initiated disciplinary action against unnamed soldiers and officers involved in the Amshipora encounter. In a brief statement, the Army accepted that its men ‘prima facie’ violated powers under Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (AFSPA).

Soon after the Army’s statement, the families of slain youth had demanded immediate exhumation of the bodies of their loved ones for proper burial at Rajouri. The three families from Rajouri had identified their sons through pictures that went viral on social media.

On September 28, J&K police chief Dilbag Singh said the investigation into Amshipora encounter is in the final stages.