Investigation into Shopian ‘fake’ encounter case in final stages: J&K police

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday said that the investigation into the Shopian alleged fake encounter is in a final stage and will be complete in the next few days.

"Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Shopian is himself monitoring the investigation process of the case and soon further details about the case will be shared. The investigations are in the final stage," J&K police chief Dilbagh Singh told reporters, here.

He said both the Army and the Police were investigating the case. However, Singh declined to share the details of the case at the moment.

On July 18, the Army had claimed that three unidentified militants were killed in Amshipora village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir’s Shopian. However, the Amshipora encounter came under scrutiny after three families from the Rajouri district of Jammu region 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.