Rajouri: Thousands of people gathered to attend the funerals of three civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri who were killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Indian Army in Shopian. The bodies of the slain civilians were buried in their native graveyards after they were handed over to their families after 70 days today.
Earlier, an official in the morning from Baramulla district administration had confirmed to ETV Bharat that the bodies of the three youth were exhumed Saturday morning and handed over to their families at Gantamulla Baramulla in north Kashmir. The three youth, Imtiyaz Ahmad, Muhammad Ibrar and Abrar Ahmad, all from Rajouri district, were killed in a staged encounter by the Army in Amshipora, Shopian on July 18.
READ: Bodies of Shopian encounter victims exhumed, handed over to families
However, the families of the three slain youth-created an uproar after they identified them as their sons by pictures which were circulated on social media. Following the demand of the families for justice and handing them bodies, police and army called a separate investigation into the staged encounter.
Inspector-General of Police Vijay Kumar had confirmed that the DNA samples of the three killed youth and their families matched and their bodies will be exhumed and handed over to the families.
Police have also arrested two local "informers" from Shopian and Pulwama districts in connection with the staged encounter and a local court has sent them to eight days of judicial remand. The army too has said that it is conducting court of inquiry into the encounter for violation of SOP under Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA).
