EARly times Report
Srinagar, Sept 12: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed hope that there will now be progress in the DNA result of three youths killed in Shopian encounter by security forces on July 18.
The Army had claimed to have killed three unidentified militants in an encounter in Shopian on July 18. However, three families in Rajouri in Jammu region had alleged that they were their relatives, who were killed in a fake encounter by the Army.
The Army has initiated probe into these killings and recorded statements of witnesses, while police has also registered a case and started investigation after the allegation that the deceased were innocent youths, who had come from Rajouri for working as labourers in Shopian.
Later, a police team, headed by a senior officer, rushed from Shopian to Rajouri and collected DNA samples of the members of families on August 13, who claimed that the deceased were their relatives. However, DNA tests have not been received so far and the families have now appealed to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to intervene in the matter.
Mr Abdullah, who is also the Vice President of the National Conference (NC), reacting to reports about delay in DNA tests results, expressed hope that the LG intervention will result in progress now.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, he said 'DNA samples were collected almost a month ago on the 13th of August. The families have every reason to fear a cover up given the inordinate delay in receiving the DNA test reports. I hope their letter to the LG will result in progress now.'
He was reacting to media reports that families have expressed concerns at the alleged inordinate delay in the results of the DNA test, which could prove whether the deceased were their relatives or unidentified militants.
The Army had claimed that three unidentified militants were killed in an encounter in Shopian on July 18.
Police later in a statement said the bodies could not be identified and they were buried in the presence of the Magistrate, after conducting a post-mortem examination and taking the DNA samples.
However, three families from Rajouri had filed a report in police station Peeru Rajouri that three youths, who had gone to Shopian on July 17, were missing. They (youth) had informed their families that they have reached Shopian before their disappearance on the same day (July 17). There was encounter in the same area late in the night.
The family members identified the three deceased, after their photographs were posted on social media about a month after the encounter.
All the mainstream political parties have demanded a high-level probe into the encounter. |
