On Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir Police collected the DNA samples of families of all three missing youth of Rajouri for the cross-examination with the trio who was killed on 18 July by the army’s 62 Rashtriya Rifles in Ashmipora, Shopian.
The army had passed them off as militants as they were buried discreetly in north Kashmir. The development came barely a few hours after Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that a police team headed by DySP rank officer had left for Rajouri to complete legal formalities.
An unnamed police official told a local news agency, Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the police team from Kashmir reached Rajouri and met officials at met the families of all three missing youth of Rajouri district, who claim that the trio killed at Shopian on 18 July was their kin.
“The investigation team met with the parents and other family members of the slain trio in the District Police Office Rajouri. Their statements were recorded,” the official said. “Later, in presence of a magistrate, DNA samples of family members of all three slain youth were taken for cross-matching with those killed on 18 July in Shopian gunbattle, whose samples have already been preserved.”
Unnamed sources disclosed to KNO that the DNA samples were collected by the team of doctors from Rajouri district hospital as per Standard Operating Procedure (SoP).
Deputy Commissioner Rajouri, Nazir Ahmed Sheikh told KNO that the district administration facilitated collections of DNA samples of family members of all three missing persons. Meanwhile, several delegations of locals, elders, and civil society groups met the police team from Kashmir and Rajouri police officers and demanded an impartial independent probe into the 18 July killings that took place in Ashmipora, Shopian.
The families of three missing youth have been claiming that they lost their contact with the trio on 17 July and that their wards were working as labourers in Shopian and living in a rented accommodation. (KNO)
