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| After 9 years, families of 3 missing youth find ray of hope | | Police says they were innocent, likely to expedite investigation | | Rajouri | Mar 4
After more than nine years family members of three missing youth have found a ray of hope to get justice as police - after confirming that the civilians, alleged killed by the security forces in a fake encounter, in border district of Rajouri were not militants - is likely to expedite the inquiry in the alleged custodial killing.
Well informed sources said that the preliminary investigation conducted by the police, about the involvement of the deceased civilians in militancy related incidents, has confirmed that the deceased were innocent and not even remotely connected with any militant group.
The three civilians had gone missing after they were allegedly picked by the army from Kotdhara village near Line of Control in Rajouri district in 1997. The family members had approached the police with the complaint that their wards have been killed in a fake encounter near the LOC and they were buried in the same area.
Acting on the complaint, the police had reportedly started investigation in the matter and was probing the links of the deceased with any militant group.
“The preliminary investigation conducted so far has revealed that they were innocent and not connected with any militancy related incident”, said Farooq Ahmed Khan, Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri.
Khan told that the police have scrutinized the name of the deceased persons and it was found that they were having clear record without any involvement of any sort.
Following the developments, the police was now trying to investigate the claims of the family that the deceased were buried near the LOC after dubbing them as intruders. “We have to find out that if there is any grave existing in Peer Badaser area as claimed by the family”, the SSP said adding, “If we reveal any thing of that sort we might go for DNA testing to verify the claims of the villagers”.
According to the families of the missing persons, an army party of 18 Dogra (then stationed) in Keeri sector picked up three persons from village Kotdhara on October 9, 1997 but their sons never returned back to their homes. Giving details, Muhammad Farooq, younger brother of one missing persons Abdul Aziz recalls, “On the fateful day an army patrol picked up my elder brother along with two others Muhammad Yousef son of Raj Muhammad and Muhammad Aziz son of Muhammad Hussain”.
“As my brother and other two persons did not returned back we filed a complaint at police station Rajouri”, he said adding, “The police instead of helping us refused to register our complaint”.
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