Shopian: Twenty-one days after three cousin brothers who worked as labourers left Rajouri on July 16 for Shopian, their families registered a missing person’s report at Peedi Police Post in Rajouri district on Sunday.
The family members also claimed that they identified the trio from photographs that showed them as militants slain in an encounter in Shopian.
The family members identified the trip as Imtiaz Ahmed, son of Sabir Hussain, Ibrar Ahmed, son of Bagha Khan, and Ibrar Ahmed, son of Mohammad Yousuf.
Family members said that the trio informed their families on July 17 that they had rented a room in Shopian. “They told my uncle that they have reached safely and are in a rented room. Later there was no communication with them since their families reside at Doak, some eight kilometers from Peedi where there is no mobile connectivity. That is why the families did not try to reach them on phone,” Saleem Ahmad, cousin of the missing youths, told Kashmir Reader over phone.
“We were not permitted to go Shopian in search of our three brothers. Tomorrow they may give us permission,” he added
The news sent shockwaves on social media, with many claiming that the three youths were killed in a fake encounter on July 18 at Amshipora village of Shopian.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti posted on her mother’s Twitter handle that she was shocked to hear that three labourers from Rajouri had been killed in a staged encounter.
“Armed forces have a free hand to operate with impunity. Explains why bodies are allowed to decompose at unknown locations. Probes into recent encounters must be ordered,” she wrote.
The CPI (M) demanded a judicial probe. “There are unverified reports that the missing labourers have been killed in a fake encounter in Shopian on July 18. This is shocking and must be probed by a sitting High Court judge in a time-bound manner,” the CPI (M) said.
“In the past also unfortunate incidents of civilians being killed in fake encounters for rewards and promotions have been reported in Kashmir. The 2010 unrest was the creation of the Machil fake encounter. Those who are proved to be involved in such heinous crimes be brought to justice,” it added.
Senior superintendent of Police Shopian, Amrit Pal Singh, told Kashmir Reader that nobody either from family or friends had approached them. “I can’t say anything till the fact-finding is done,” he said, adding that he will inform once police are approached by the family members.
Spokesperson of the Indian Army, Lt Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that they have noted social media reports linked to the operation at Shopian on July 18.
“The three terrorists killed during the operation have not been identified and the bodies were buried based on established protocols,” he said, adding that the army is investigating the matter.

Raashid Hassan