Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army Captain, involved in the fake encounter in Shopian in July last year in which three youth were killed, had hatched a conspiracy along with two civilians with the motive for grabbing a reward money of Rs 20 lakh, says IIOJK police charge sheet.
Captain Bhoopinder Singh is currently in the custody. The case relates to the July 18, 2020 encounter at Amshipura in Shopian in which three youth of Rajouri district — Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar- were killed and branded as militants.
The police charge sheet submitted before the chief judicial magistrate of this district also details the role of the two civilians — Tabish Nazir and Bilal Ahmed Lone- in the case.
Zone has since turned an approver and recorded his confession statement before a magistrate.
The charge sheet submitted by the Special Investigation Team of Jammu and Kashmir Police has listed 75 witnesses in support of its findings and has also provided technical evidence including call data records of the accused persons involved in the case.
The charge sheet also has the statements of four army personnel — Subedar Garu Ram, Lance Naik Ravi Kumar, Sepoys Ashwini Kumar and Yougesh — who were part of Capt Singh’s team at the time of the incident.
They said that all of them along with the two civilians had left the Army camp together as there were reliable inputs that a contact with terrorists was possible, according to the charge sheet.
On reaching the spot, all the four were asked to cordon off from different directions. “…as they were approaching the spot on foot after disembarking from the vehicle they heard a few bursts of live ammunition even before they had laid the cordon,” said the charge sheet, quoting the statements of the four.
Later, Capt. Singh told them that he had to fire as the hiding militants were trying to escape. “By staging the encounter,” the charge sheet said, Capt. Singh and two other civilians also “purposefully destroyed evidence of real crime that they have committed and also have been purposefully projecting false information as part of a criminal conspiracy hatched between them with motive to grab prize money of Rs 20 lakh”.
It said the culprit captain of 62 Rashtriya Rifles furnished false information to mislead the senior officer and for getting an FIR lodged to “tailor fit his motive for grabbing prize money in furtherance of criminal conspiracy”.—KMS
