Jammu & Kashmir
Shopian fake encounter: Army begins court-martial against accused Captain
Srinagar: The Indian army has initiated general court-martial proceedings against its captain for the killing of three men in a staged encounter in Amshipora Shopian in south Kashmir in July 2020 after a Court of Inquiry found that troops had “exceeded” powers vested under the AFSPA, officials said.
The three men hailing from Rajouri district of Jammu region— Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar— were killed in a remote hilly village in Shopian district on July 18, 2020 and labelled as “terrorists”.
However, as doubts were raised on social media over the killings, the Army promptly constituted a Court of Inquiry which found prima facie evidence that the troops had “exceeded” powers vested under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
Maintaining its highest standards and commitment to the ethical conduct of anti-militancy operations, the court-martial proceedings were then initiated against Captain Bhoopendra Singh, they said.
The Court of Inquiry was followed by the Summary of Evidence, which was completed in the last week of December 2020. Subsequently, the army had issued a statement saying “the process of recording the Summary of Evidence has been completed. The same is being examined by the authorities concerned in consultation with legal advisors for proceeding further.”
The officials said the captain was facing court-martial proceedings for violating the powers vested under the AFSPA and for not following the Do’s and Don’ts of the army as approved by the Supreme Court.
The army had also called Mohammed Yusuf, the father of Abrar Ahmed, from Rajouri for deposing in the court-martial proceedings.
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