Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Former Jammu and Kashmir and People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has welcomed an Army court recommending life imprisonment to the Army captain involved in the killing of three youth from Rajouri in the 2020 staged encounter in south Kashmir's Shopian district.
Recommending punishment of life imprisonment for Captain involved in Amshipora fake encounter is a welcome step towards creating accountability in such cases. Hope an impartial probe is also ordered in Lawapora and Hyderpora encounters to prevent repetition of such ghastly incidents, Mufti said in a tweet on Monday.
Also read:Army court recommends lifer to officer involved in Amshipura 'staged' encounter; sentence awaits confirmation
The PDP president was reacting to the court martial proceedings of the Army, which recently recommended life imprisonment to Captain Bhoopendra Singh, who had led the fake encounter on July 18, 2020 at Amshipura area of Shopian district of south Kashmir.
The Army had labelled the three youth killed in the staged encounter as “hardcore” terrorists. However, the three slain youth were later identified as Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar, all residents of Rajouri leading to an uproar. Netizens and political leaders questioned the veracity of the encounter after which the authorities ordered a probe into the killings.
The Army set up a Court of Inquiry. The inquiry prima facie found that the troops "exceeded" their powers vested under AFSPA. The Summary of Evidence was completed in the last week of December 2020. Pertinently, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had also constituted a Special Investigation Team which filed a charge sheet against three persons including Captain Bhoopendra Singh.
