In startling revelation by army after an inquiry was ordered into the Amishpora encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir where three alleged terrorists were shot by the army, it has been found that Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was misused.
“The inquiry ordered by the Army authorities into Op Amshipora has been concluded. The inquiry has brought out certain prima facie evidence indicating that during the operation, powers vested under the AFSPA 1990 were exceeded and the Do’s and Don’ts of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) as approved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court have been contravened. Consequently, the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable” an army statement read.
It stated that the evidence collected by the inquiry has prima-facie indicated that the three unidentified terrorists killed in Op Amshipora were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohd Ibrar, who hailed from Rajouri. “Their DNA report is awaited. Their involvement with terrorism or related activities is under investigation by the police”.
The family members of three missing youth from Rajouri district of Jammu region had claimed that their kin were taken away by security forces and killed in encounter in Shopian on July 18.
After a controversy in the matter, army had initiated an inquiry that is still not complete and the investigation is on.
Misuse of AFSPA is going to kick a controversy in the already contentious case of Shopian encounter.
