After three families from Rajouri alleged that the army killed their relatives in staged gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian on 18 July, the Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Thursday said that a police team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) rank has left for Rajouri to complete the legal formalities and police is working on two aspects—to go for cross-examination of DNA samples of the killed men with the families and to check their call details to find out whether they were in touch with militants.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a full dress rehearsal parade at SK Stadium in Srinagar a day ahead of the Independence Day function, the IGP said that the police had “already taken the DNA samples of all three slain,” and “today a team headed by DySP Wajahat has left for Rajouri to complete the legal formalities.”
The IGP further said that the police will check the call details of all the three killed men to find out whether they were in touch with militants and other technical details as well, reported a local news agency, Kashmir News Observer (KNO). “After three families filed a missing complaint in Peru police post in Rajouri, we took the case seriously. No conclusion can be drawn at this point.”
On 10 August, the families of three men filed a missing complaint in Rajouri and then later identified their relatives from an alleged post-gunfight photograph from Shopian, in which the army’s 62 Rashtriya Rifle had claimed to have killed three militants.
The family members of three youth and the Amnesty International have demanded an independent and transparent probe. The same calls were given by unionist parties as well. The families of three Rajouri youth had also approached concerned authorities in Rajouri to seek permission to travel to Kashmir and to demand the exhumation of bodies for identification.
About the 15 August preparations, the IGP Kashmir said that foolproof security arrangements have been put in place and there will be ground and aerial surveillance to keep the eye on suspects. “All security agencies are maintaining a close synergy to foil any possible attack by militants. Militant presence is there but we are ready to foil all their plans and ensure smooth conduct of I-Day function across Kashmir including Srinagar,” the IGP said.
He urged people to cooperate with the government forces during the frisking operations that have been intensified across the Valley especially the capital city of Srinagar. (KNO)
