Complainant seeks inquiry, action against guilty personnel
Nasir Azam
Srinagar : A plea has been submitted in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)seeking action against the personnel involved in disappearance and alleged fake encounter of three youth in Shopian district of southern Kashmir.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions(CITU) has filed a petition in the rights body seeking directions for a thorough investigation / inquiry into missing of three labourers and alleged encounter in Amshipora, Shopian on July 18.
“The complainant would like to bring in your kind notice that the family of these missing youth have alleged that these young and poor labourers aged 18, 21 and 26 after reaching Shopian District on 16th July from home in Rajouri have gone missing from 17th July, 2020. The families of these young boys have alleged that these are the same youth, who have claimed to be killed in an encounter by 62 battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles on 18.07.2020 at Amshipora, Shopian, J&K,” reads the petition, a copy of which is with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The complainant has also sought directions to the concerned officials/authorities to initiate appropriate criminal as well as departmental action against the persons who are involved in the disappearance of three labourers and alleged encounter in Shopian.
The petitioner has also prayed for directions to the concerned officials/authorities to pay adequate compensation to the families of the victims.
On July 18, Army claimed to have killed three unidentified militants in Amshipora area of Shopian. Nearly 22 days later on August 10, three families from Rajouri, on the basis of photographs of alleged militants, claimed that the unidentified militants Army claimed to have killed in the encounter were their innocent relatives who had gone to Kashmir in search of work.
Both Army and police have ordered separate investigations in the matter following the claims. Jammu & Kashmir Police has collected DNA samples of family members of the missing youth. International rights bodies like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have sought an impartial inquiry in the matter—(KNO)
