Srinagar, May 29: The killing of three youth by army in a fake encounter has triggered protests and clashes in Indian Kashmir while police have arrested three persons including an Indian soldier for their role in orchestrating the fake encounter.

Three youth Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone and Muhammad Shafi Lone hailing from North Kashmir’s Nadihal, Rafiabad area had gone missing on April 28. They were killed in a fake encounter by Indian army in Machil sector along Line of Control (defecto border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir) on April 30.

Indian army had claimed to have killed three foreign militants of Pakistan based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba on April 30 at Machil sector. Army had claimed that the three militants had tried to sneak into this part of Kashmir from Pakistani controlled Kashmir (PcK).

Three bodies were exhumed from a graveyard in Kalaroos area yesterday and were instantly identified as that of the missing youth by their family members in presence of a magistrate.

The family members of the slain youth alleged that they were lured by a former Special Police Officer Bashir Ahmad Lone and a pro-government gunman. “The two offered better salaries to them for their daily work and under the guise of ‘good pay’ handed them over to Indian army, who allegedly killed them in a fake encounter at Machil on April 30,” said the family members of the slain youth.

The incident has triggered massive protests in North Kashmir’s Nadihal, Rafiabad area, where hundreds of people for the third day in succession took to roads and staged demonstrations on Saturday. Chanting pro-freedom, pro-Islamic, anti-India and anti-army slogans, the protestors were demanding punishment to the soldiers involved in killing of three youth. They were also demanding the arrest of the soldiers. “They should be hanged in public,” they demanded.

The protestors burnt house of a former police officer, Bashir Ahmad, who alongwith two others had lured the youth and handed them over to army for orchestrating fake encounter.

The clashes also took place at some other parts in North Kashmir, where the protestors clashed with police and paramilitary soldiers, who fired dozens of tear smoke shells and resorted to baton charge to disperse the agitating people. The protestors retaliated by hurling stones and bricks towards the cops. At least a dozen persons including some policemen were injured in the clashes.

In Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, authorities had imposed undeclared curfew in some sensitive areas to prevent people from taking to roads and protesting against the fake encounter. The police and paramilitary soldiers had placed barricades and concertina wires on the roads in old and up town and were not allowing any kind of movement.

Meanwhile, police have arrested three persons including the alleged kingpin Abbas Hussain, who had hired the three youth and handed them over to army. “The investigations are going on and further arrests may take place,” a senior police officer said.

He said an Indian Army officer and four others have been booked for murder of three youth.

“The three bodies exhumed yesterday had torture marks. Besides, all the three had bullet wounds on their heads, which is highly unlikely to have been caused by during a gunfight. They were dressed in summer clothes, which is not possible for militants crossing the snowbound LOC where the gunfight was claimed to have occurred as the upper reaches of Kashmir are still under snow cover,” a senior police officer said.
Police sources said that army had paid three persons who handed the youth to them Rs 1.50 lakhs respectively.

Senior Indian army officer in Kashmir, Lt Gen Marwah has assured the Kashmir government that it will lend every possible support to police to unravel the truth. “Army will cooperate fully with all investigating agencies and inquiries setup by the Government and assist them to reach the truth. Army has already ordered a high level internal inquiry into the incident to bare the facts transparently and to bring to book anybody if found guilty,” he had told chief minister Omar Abdullah during a meeting yesterday.

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National Turk / India – Faiz Ahmad

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