Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the bodies of three labourers from Rajouri, who were killed in a fake encounter by Indian Army in Shopian in July, were exhumed and later laid to rest in their hometown in Rajouri district by the family members.
On July 18, Indian Army had killed three youth during a cordon and search operation in Amshipora area of Shopian and passed them on as “unidentified militants”. However, the victims were later identified by their families through the pictures released by the army as Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Muhammad Ibrar from Rajouri, who had gone to the Kashmir Valley in search of work.
The exhumation was done late on Friday night at Gantamulla area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir.
Mohammed Ibrar (21) and Imtiaz Ahmad (26) were buried at their ancestral graveyard at Dharsakri, the burial of Ibrar Ahmad (18) was performed at his nearby Tarkassi village. A large number of locals participated in the funeral prayers.
On July 18, the Army claimed that three militants were killed in Amshipura village in Shopian district.
The Army initiated an inquiry after social media reports indicated that the three men were from Rajouri district in Jammu and had gone missing in Amshipura. The families of the youth, who worked as labourers in Shopian, had also filed a police complaint.
On September 18, the force said it has found “prima facie evidence” that its troops exceeded powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) during the encounter. The police also launched its investigation and collected the DNA samples of the families which matched with the slain persons.—KMS
