An investigation into suspected custodial executions has been called after three Kashmiri civilians died after being taken up by the Indian army on Dec 21 during a devastating rebel onslaught in the disputed Himalayan region.
The three men, Mohammad Showkat, 22, Safeer Hussain, 45, and Shabir Ahmad, 32, were arrested by the army on Friday morning in the hilly Topa Pir village in the Poonch district, according to their families. The previous day, four Indian army soldiers were killed by suspected rebels who ambushed military vehicles close to the village. He questioned the compensation and job opportunities offered by the government, stating that his brother has four children. Ahmad, who works with the Border Security Forces (BSF) in Rajasthan, expressed his disappointment at the lack of compensation and justice for the innocent people involved.
Investigation underway
The Indian army has announced an investigation into three civilian deaths in the area, with the Information and Public Relations Department of the regional authority, run from New Delhi, stating that legal action has been initiated. The government has announced compensation for each of the deceased and compassionate appointments to the next of kin of each deceased. However, the Indian Army has not specified what action was taken and against whom. The families of the victims have said that the government’s offer of jobs and compensation points to the potential role of the army in the killing of the three Kashmiri men. Kashmir has been without an elected local government since 2019.
However, India stripped the Muslim-majority region of its special status and bifurcated the region into two centrally-administered regions – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Since then, hundreds of rights activists, politicians, and journalists have been detained, many of them freed after months-long incarceration as the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed curbs on free speech, civil liberties, and media freedoms. India’s Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision to revoke Article 370 of India’s constitution that granted limited autonomy to the region earlier this month.
Alleged torture
The residents said that eight civilians were taken into custody by the army to be questioned; three of them died, and five of them were admitted to a Rajouri hospital to receive treatment for their wounds. According to the adolescent daughter of one of the injured victims, “The government wants us to compromise, but we will not compromise, She asserted, “They received electric shocks and had chili powder injected into their intimate areas; they were not questioned.”
Meanwhile, in the capital city of Srinagar, around 200 kilometers (120 miles) to the north, representatives of the main Kashmiri political parties organized demonstrations and called for justice for the deaths. A court inside the Indian army acknowledged misconduct and imposed a life term on an officer responsible for the deaths. However, the military tribunal deferred the officer’s punishment last month, dashed the families’ expectations for justice.
Mobile internet halted in Poonch and Rajouri, J&K
In the Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, mobile internet connections were blocked on Saturday, one day after three individuals were discovered dead close to the Poonch encounter site. On December 21, terrorists assaulted two of the Army personnel’s trucks at Topa Pir in the Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in their deaths. Three villagers were discovered dead on Friday night close to this location; according to reports, they were among the seventy-eight guys detained for interrogation about the terror incident.
According to sources, top personnel from the Army, police, and civil administration—including the top Superintendent of Police and Poonch Deputy Commissioner—were in Bufliaz till late Friday night investigating the situation. Poonch was also in the direction of Divisional Commissioner Jammu. Protests in the vicinity were also reported.
A mini-truck and a Gypsy were traveling from Bufliaz in Surankote to Thanamandi in Rajouri on Thursday afternoon to reach a Rashtriya Rifles battalion. Based on accounts, terrorists who appeared to have already set up an ambush assaulted the Army personnel’s vehicles as they descended below Topa Pir. According to PTI, the General Officer Commanding the White Knight Corps, based in Jammu, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, and Director General of Police R R Swain examined the ambush site and assessed the security situation on Friday while a massive search operation was carried out in the dense forests to find the terrorists.
Murder case filed under Sec 302 of IPC
After three men who were detained by the Army for interrogation were discovered dead on December 22 with many injuries, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday filed a murder complaint under Sec 302 of IPC against unidentified individuals. Eight guys were taken into custody after an Army convoy in the Poonch-Rajouri area was ambushed on December 21, resulting in the deaths of four soldiers and the injuries of three more. The terrorists who carried out the ambush have not yet been apprehended or identified.
According to a government source, the First Information Report was submitted in accordance with Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Surankote police station in Poonch. Following the publication of a 29-second video purporting to show Army jawans stripping and dousing the three guys in chilly powder, Delhi took a strong stand and the case was opened. The video became viral on social media. The Army’s camp was reportedly the location of the video shoot.
