Rajouri family claims their children killed in a ‘fake encounter’ in Shopian

"My children have been killed in a fake encounter. I am going to seek permission from the magistrate to claim their dead bodies ," says Mohammad Yousuf, a resident of Koteranka, Rajouri in a quivering voice.

On July 18, a few gunshots punctured the morning hush of idyllic Amshipora village in Shopian district, some 62 kms south of Srinagar. Soon, the internet vanished from the area and reports about a gun battle between forces and militants began crawling across the bottom of television screens. A tweet by the state police also confirmed the news reports.

Later, in a press statement, police claimed that three unidentified militants were shot dead in the area. They said that the operation was launched by the Army, and later the police and CRPF joined in. According to police, after taking their DNA samples, the trio were later interred.

Gun battles between security forces and militants are a routine affair, particularly in the deep parts of south Kashmir. Media reports suggest that around 143 militants and 54 security men were killed in different encounters across the Valley in the first half of 2020.

Oblivious about the encounter, Yousuf proceeded towards the alpine meadows with his cattle. His son Ibrar Ahmad (25) along with another namesake relative Ibrar (17) had left for Shopian to look for some menial work in the area on August 16. According to Yousuf, Imtiyaz Ahmad, the son of his brother-in -law was already in the area for a few weeks.

Next day they called home, after which the family did not hear from them.

On Monday, the families of the trio registered a missing report with the local police station after they saw their pictures on social media passed off as the militants of the July 18 encounter.

"Someone has showed me the pictures. I have identified my son. I want the body of my son," said Yousuf, growing restless and antsy. Yousuf said that they had nothing to do with militancy and were innocent.

"You can go and verify their antecedents with Sarpanch and Lamberdar of our village. They will tell you about them. They were innocent; I want justice," he added.

Another unsettled relative said that he was not in a position to speak as the incident had left him totally numb

"I'm in hilly meadows and mobile connectivity is lousy here. I thought they must have called their home, but they had not. I can't tell you more," he said.

A Srinagar-based army spokesperson on Sunday evening said that the Army was investigating the matter. "We have noted social media inputs linked to the operation at Shopian on July 18, 2020," he said, adding that the militants killed during the operation had not been identified and the bodies were buried based on established protocols.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had stopped handing over the bodies of killed militants to their families. The government says that the move was taken to ensure social distancing norms.

However, security analysts in the Valley believe that government was toying with the idea since last one year to prevent big militant funerals.

In 2010, three young men – Riyaz Ahmad Lone, Shahzad Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi – from Nadihal village of north Kashmir's Baramulla district were killed in a staged encounter by Army and were later passed off as foreign militants. Six soldiers including two officers were later found guilty for stage-managing the encounter.

"Kashmir has a long history of fake encounters and forces involved in such encounters hardly face punishment," says a Valley-based security analyst, who declined to be identified in this report.

Meanwhile, CPIM leader Mohamamd Yousuf Tarigami and the PDP have demanded a probe into the incident.