Army Finds 'prima facie' evidence of troops violating power under AFSPA in Shopian 'fake encounter’
On July 18, the Army claimed three militants were killed in Amshipura village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir's Shopian district.
Committed to ethical conduct during anti-militancy operations, the Army initiated an inquiry after social media reports indicated the three men were from Rajouri district in Jammu and had gone missing at Amshipura, said Col Rajesh Kalia, the defence spokesperson in Srinagar.
The probe was completed in a record four weeks.
The families of the three men from Rajouri who worked as labourers in Shopian had also filed a police complaint.
In a brief statement, the Army said the Shopian operation contravened the dos and don'ts of the Chief of Army Staff approved by the Supreme Court.
"The inquiry has brought out certain prima facie evidence indicating that during the operation, powers vested under the AFSPA 1990 were exceeded and the Do's and Don'ts of Chief of Army Staff as approved by the Supreme Court have been contravened.
"Consequently, the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable," the statement said.
It is not immediately clear how many Army men are being proceeded against.
The evidence collected indicates the three unidentified terrorists killed in Amshipura were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar who hailed from Rajouri. Their DNA report is awaited.
"Their involvement with terrorism or related activities is under investigation by the police," the statement said.
General Officer Commanding Lt Gen B S Raju had taken note of social media reports and initiated a probe into the incident. A general advertisement was published in local newspapers, asking people with any "credible information" about the case to step forward and share it with the court of inquiry instituted by the Army.
Relatives of the three youths, belonging to Dhar Sakri village in Kotranka of Rajouri area in Poonch, had lodged a written missing persons report in the local police station after they lost contact with them on July 17. The three were working as labourers in apple and walnut orchards in Amshipura.
The relatives said in their complaint that they had last spoken to the three on July 16 when they informed their families they had got a room in Amshipura.
The room was the site of the encounter two days later, the complaint stated.
Police is also probing the three youths' call details and why they jumped out of a window when an operation was launched at their rented accommodation, a police official said.
He added that their presence in around strategic places in Shopian since their arrival was also being investigated.
According to the rules, a Summary of Evidence will now be initiated against the erring Army personnel after which Court Martial proceedings will begin. The Army has been maintaining high standards of transparency and punishing officials whenever rules are violated, officials said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
