In an official statement, the Jammu and Kashmir police revealed on Sunday that the Shopian encounter was nothing but staged. The accused Army Captain and two civilians who had joined him in executing the crime are under military detention and police custody respectively.
Police filed a 300-page charge sheet against Captain Bhoopendra Singh belonging to the Rashtriya Rifles 62 battalion, Bilal Ahmed Lone of Pulwama, and Tabish Nazir Malik resident of Chowgam, Shopian district. The three, they said, planned the encounter and trapped the 3 youngsters to earn medals for so-called “bravery”.
The accused had planted illegally attained arms on the dead bodies of the men to conclude the murders as “encounter” and label the Rajouri based laborers as “terrorists”. Ibrar Ahmed aged 20, Imtiyaz Ahmed aged 25, and Ibrar Ahmed aged 16, who had come to Shopia in search of work in Kashmir’s apple orchards, were also complained to be missing by their family.
The J&K’s police said in their statement, “During the investigation, it transpired that conspiracy has been hatched by accused Captain Bhoopendra Singh, Tabish Nazir, and Bilal Ahmed Lone to abduct and staged the encounter.” In a bid to tag them as armed fighters and “hardcore terrorists”, the youth were stripped of their identities as well.
The statement came a day after the police filed against the 3 accused in a local court on Saturday. They also said that the Standard of Procedure involved in such cases was also not followed.
“They planted illegally acquired weapons and material on their dead bodies after stripping them of their identities and tagged them as hardcore terrorists in possession of war-like stores and deliberately providing false information to colleagues/seniors. As per SOPs Army informed the police for registration of FIR,” the police said.
Notably, the FIR against the innocents, who were booked under the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act (UAPA) and Arms Act, has been removed. In its place, the Arms Act has been pressed against the 3 accused along with charges of murder, conspiracy, abduction, and the spread of fake information.
According to the released statement, a Special Investigation Team carried out by Deputy Superintendent of Police Wajahat Hussain, recorded statements of 49 witnesses to give more weight to the case.
The court has sought suggestions from the Army for the trial of the accused captain to be held in a civilian criminal court or a court-martial.
However, as per AFSPA, the emergency law imposed in India-occupied Kashmir in the year 1990 does not allow army officials to be trialed in civilian courts unless New Delhi permits.
Due to the rule that came into being following an Indian rebel soldier’s plea, none of the army officers has been taken to civilian courts for the past 30 years even though police requests kept pouring in regarding the illegal and wrong actions of the army associates. No permission has been granted till now.
A Rajouri based activist, Guftar Ahmad Chowdhary, says that the journey for the families to achieve justice “has begun now” as it is a “long battle”.
Many activists of Kashmir highlighted that there have been several cases in the past when the army brutally killed innocents by staging encounters and tagging them as “rebels” to earn accolades and other benefits.
According to a police probe of 2010, it was found that the army murdered 3 civilians in Machil in a staged gunfight near Kupwara’s LoC. They were brought to the area where they were killed and then termed “militants”.
On Thursday, an Army spokesperson told the media that the procedure of summary evidence in the Shopian case has got completed after evaluation by legal experts to know as to whether there was a need for any action in the matter.
“Indian Army is committed to the ethical conduct of operations. Further details will be shared in a manner so as not to prejudice the proceedings under Army Law,” the spokesperson said in the statement.
The infamous Shopian encounter took place on 18th July 2020 on “specific input by 62RR (Rashtriya Rifles) about the presence of terrorists in the village Amshipora area of District Shopian”.
The statement of the police read that the CRPF joined the encounter “later”, which is a clear embarkment to the wrong protocols. Generally, statements that mention such episodes do not have a reference to the chronology of the security force’s entry.
When the case got viral on social media along with the pictures of the dead bodies of the 3, their families immediately identified their relatives that led to the present-day scenario. Following the claim, the DNAs were matched whose reports came in the last week of September, confirming their identity.
The Army released a statement on 18th August that said the Special Powers granted to the Army under the AFSPA was “exceeded” and that instructions have been sent to begin the disciplinary proceedings against the accused.
After the shootings, the army earlier claimed that the encounter took place in south Kashmir’s Amshipora village and 3 weapons were found with them. They also rushed and buried the bodies in a secluded area on the borders.
The bodies were later dug out and handed over to the families.
