Srinagar: The bodies of the three Rajouri youths killed in an alleged fake encounter by the army in Shopian district on July 18 will be exhumed and handed over to their families, a senior police officer said here on Wednesday.
“Since the DNA samples (of the deceased) have matched with the families, the three bodies will be exhumed and handed over to the families after due process of law,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said.
On July 18, the Army claimed three militants were killed in Amshipura village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
However, the Army initiated an inquiry after three Rajouri families came forward to claim that the slain youths were their kin and were not militants but labourers.
The families of the three men also filed a police complaint.
The Army ordered a probe into the “encounter” and on September 18 it said that it had found “prima facie” evidence that its troops “exceeded” powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against them.
The police also launched its investigations and collected the DNA samples of the families to match with those killed.
Last week, the police said the samples have matched with the families from Rajouri and further investigation in the case was going on.
—PTI

Press Trust of India