Shopian fake encounter : Army captain, 2 others attempted to destroy evidence, says J&K police chargesheet
Shopian fake encounter : Army captain, 2 others attempted to destroy evidence, says J&K police chargesheet
The Army captain and two others, who were involved in the fake encounter in Kashmir's Shopian district, had attempted to destroy evidence in the case, a charge sheet by Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police said.
January 25, 2021 :
The Army captain and two others, who were involved in the fake encounter in Kashmir's Shopian district, had attempted to destroy evidence in the case, a charge sheet by Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police said.
Captain Bhoopendra Singh alias Major Basheer Khan of 62 RR had also provided wrong information to his superiors and the police about the recovery made during the staged encounted, the charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police before the chief judicial magistrate in Shopian said, news agency PTI reported.
The Army captain and the two other accused have not provided any information about the source of weapons and material planted weapons on the three slain youths, according to the police charge sheet.
"No leads regarding the source of illegal weapons as illegally arranged by accused" for planting on the bodies were provided, the charge sheet said.
"By staging the encounter," the three accused "have purposefully destroyed evidence or real crime that they have committed and also have (been) purposefully projecting false information as part of a criminal conspiracy hatched between them with the motive to grab a prize money of Rs 20 lakh," it said.
The Army, however, had denied that its captain staged the encounter for Rs 20 lakh, saying there was no system of cash rewards for its personnel for any acts in combat situations or otherwise in the line of duty.
"The evidence was destroyed by accused Captain Singh," the charge sheet said.
The case relates to the July 18, 2020 encounter in Shopian's Amshipura in which three youths were killed and dubbed as terrorists. The victims were identified as Abrar Ahmed (25), Imtiyaz Ahmed (20), and Mohammed Ibrar (16). Later, the Army ordered a Court of Inquiry after reports appeared on social media that the three youths were innocent.
Earlier in December last year, a 1,400-page chargesheet against the Army captain and two others was filed in the court of principal district and sessions judge, Shopian by the head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The chargesheet indicted the Army officer and two others stating that "They deliberately and purposefully chose not to follow SOPs, they planted illegally acquired weapons and material on their 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 and seniors."
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was constituted by the J&K Police to probe the case recreated all the scenes of the crime, including routes used after meeting the victims by the accused and the place where the victims were murdered, as per the statements of witnesses.
During the investigation, a statement of 49 witnesses was recorded under relevant sections of law and a total of 75 witnesses were listed under the list of witnesses annexed.
