Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday questioned the official version that arms and ammunition were recovered from the Shopian encounter site in July after the DNA tests on Friday proved that the three slain men were labourers from Rajouri district of the union territory.
“According to this official version, ‘incriminating materials, including arms and ammunition, were recovered from the site of encounter’. So who planted this ‘incriminating material’?” Omar said in a tweet.
“These young men were buried somewhere in North Kashmir. It is imperative that the bodies be exhumed & handed over to the families immediately so that a proper burial can take place near their homes in Rojouri district,” Omar, the National Conference vice-president, said.
Sajad Lone, President of Peoples Conference, said he did not expect anything to change due to the latest developments as such cases have happened in the past as well.
“Will there be any change? Will the sanctity of human life be restored? No. nothing will change. This encounter was exposed by our media forcing initiation of investigation. As hiding it in today’s digital age was not possible. My thoughts with the 3 men murdered in cold blood,” Lone wrote on his Twitter handle.
“Had this been the first time, one could have hoped it won’t happen again. It is not the first time and not the last time. There is no deterrence and in Delhi there is a lot of tolerance for HR violations in Kashmir. Justice will be ornamental unless it is divine,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded Stern & speedy action against the perpetrators of the Shopian fake encounter urging for transparent and time-bound investigation to deliver justice to the families of the victims.
In a statement, party spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said that the policy of incentivizing killings has been at the core of many instances of “murder for medals” in the past as well and that it is about time that the government makes Shopian incident an example to ensure justice & create deterrence.
Apni Party president Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday said the police’s forensic investigations confirming the identity of three slain labourers from Rajouri district who were killed in Amshipora-Shopian encounter warrants the certainty of punishment under law that can act as an effective deterrent against such human rights violations.
Appreciating the role of police in conducting a “fair investigation” in the matter, so far, Bukhari said the Government of India must disburse adequate solatium in addition to the government jobs to the victim families in light of the Supreme Court rulings and ensure that a stern action is taken against the culprits.
He said the “Army’s probe findings in the matter in which it admitted violations of Standard Operating Procedures, Army Conduct Rules and exceeding AFSPA guidelines, followed by DNA revelations made by the police today would certainly narrow down the growing trust deficit and alienation among people”.
“Considering these incidents as prima facie extra-judicial killings, such cases must be probed without any bias. The role of local collaborators who provide concocted information to security forces in lieu of some remuneration should also be exposed and the guilty should be taken to task,” he added.
