L-G hands over government job letters to kin of Shopian fake encounter victims

The Jammu and Kashmir police had constituted a special investigation team which filed a chargesheet against three persons for “staging a fake encounter”

The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday handed over appointment letters for government jobs to family members of three civilians killed in a fake encounter by an army captain in south Kashmir’s Shopian district in 2020.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha handing over a job letter to a beneficiary on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

The three were killed at Amshipura, a remote hilly village in Shopian on July 18, 2020, by Captain Bhoopendra Singh, who labelled them as “terrorists”. The letters were handed over on compassionate ground by Sinha at a ceremony to Shareen Akhter, wife of Mohammad Abrar, a resident of Tarkassi, Kotranka; Mohmmad Arif, brother of Mohammad Imtiyaz, a resident of Dhar Sakri, Kotranka; and Farayaz Ahmed, brother of Mohammad Abrar of Kotranka, an official spokesperson said.

After doubts were raised over the killings and the army constituted a court of inquiry. The court of inquiry and summary of evidence found that the troops had “exceeded” powers vested under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

General court-martial proceedings, which were completed earlier this year, recommended life imprisonment for Singh. The life sentence is subject to confirmation by higher army authorities, officials said.

L-G Sinha had visited the families in 2020 and conveyed to them Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message that the government stood with the aggrieved families and assured them complete support.

The identity of the three youths was subsequently confirmed through a DNA test. The bodies were handed over to their families in Baramulla in October 2020 and buried in their native village in Rajouri. The L-G also handed over an appointment letter to Neeta Devi, widow of Chager Kumar of Dhandal of Ramnagar (Udhampur) who was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Udhampur in 2022, the spokesperson said.

Sinha interacted with the family members of the deceased civilians and assured all possible assistance by the administration in the future. Additional director general of police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh and Jammu divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar were present at the event.