An internal inquiry by India’s army ruled against military staff on Fridayin an incident that led to the deaths of three people who were passed offas “unidentified terrorists” in an anti-militancy operation inIndian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said in a statement that theinquiry identified those killed in the operation as Imtiyaz Ahmad, 21,Abrar Ahmad, 25, and Abrar Khatana, 18. All of them hailed from the Rajouriarea of Jammu province.
On Aug. 18, the military claimed that soldiers had killed the three men inAmshipora village of the southern Shopian district.
Kalia said a competent disciplinary authority had ordered for “initiatingdisciplinary proceedings […] against those found prima-facie answerable”in the incident, during which the soldiers had abused their power andviolated rules.
He said that while DNA tests of the dead were pending, police wereinvestigating their involvement in militancy.
On Aug. 11, the families of three missing cousins told the press that theIndian army had killed them in a staged gunfight claiming they weremilitants.
Muhammad Yusuf, a sheep farmer, had told Anadolu Agency that his son AbrarAhmad and his two cousins had left home on July 16 for work in Shopian.They had been going to the district for the past few years during the appleharvest.
The families had identified the men from photos of those killed in the July18 operation, which were circulated on social media.
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Disputed Region
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistanin parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is alsoheld by China.
Since they were partitioned in 1947, New Delhi and Islamabad have foughtthree wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.
Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troopshave fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire took effect in 2003.
Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indianrule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
According to several human rights organizations, thousands have reportedlybeen killed in the conflict since 1989. – Anadolu Agency