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J&K govt announces compensation, jobs to kin of 3 civilians found dead in Poonch
The family members of the deceased men and political parties in the Valley have alleged that their deaths were custodial murders inside an army camp
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday announced compensation and jobs to the kin of three civilians who were found dead on Friday near the site of Thursday’s terrorist ambush in Poonch district even as family members of the deceased men and political parties in the Valley alleged that their deaths were “custodial murders inside an army camp of 48 RR.”
Meanwhile, the army’s search operations to neutralise the terrorists responsible for the ambush at Dhatyar Morh in Surankote, in which four soldiers were killed and three others were injured, continued on Saturday.
“The death of three civilians was reported yesterday in Baffliaz of Poonch District. The medico legal formalities were conducted and legal action in this matter has been initiated by the appropriate authority. Government has announced compensation for each of the deceased. Further Government has also announced compassionate appointments to the next of kin of each deceased,” said a statement issued on X by the department of information and public relations of the J&K administration.
The bodies of the three men were buried on Saturday afternoon at their native village Topa Peer in the presence of Jammu divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar Jangid, Poonch deputy magistrate Choudhary Mohammad Yasin, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vinay Kumar and other officials.
The deceased were identified as Safeer Hussain, 44, son of Mir Hussain, Showket Ali, 22, son of Nazir Hussain and Shabir Hussain, 32, son of Wali Mohammad of Topa Peer village. On Saturday morning, around 8am, bodies of the three men were handed over to their families after post-mortem inside an army camp.
Mohammad Sadeeq, 45, panch of Topa Peer village, whose 22-year-old nephew Showket Ali was among the three dead, said that those killed were poor people and had no links with Thursday’s ambush or terrorism.
He said army had picked up nine men from the village around 9.30am on Friday when they were having morning tea in their houses. He claimed that the detained men were first taken to Mal post where they were tortured and then shifted to Bafliaz post.
“Dead bodies were handed over to us at 8am today (Saturday). We are going to bury them today, but we demand justice. We also ask the army to give us the evidence of their involvement in any terror activity,” he said.
He claimed that the deceased bore injury marks on their bodies.
“Acid and chilli powder were poured on them. They were given electric shocks in water filled tanks. Every third-degree torture was given to them. I have shared two videos of the torture with the deputy magistrate,” he said.
Two video clips, seen by HT, showed some men in army uniforms abusing the detenues, beating them up with sticks besides pouring chili powder on their bodies. HT could not verify the authenticity of the videos.
Repeated calls and messages to Poonch DC Choudhary, SSP Vinay Kumar and Jammu divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar went unanswered. Army’s defence spokesperson also had no information with him regarding the family’s claims. Additional directorate general of public i nformation (ADG PI) -Indian Army later said in a post on X, “Terrorist Initiated Incident at Bafliaz in Poonch-Rajouri Sector (21/ 22 Dec 23). Search operations by the Security Forces are continuing in the area of operations after the incident of 21 Dec 23. Reports have been received regarding three civilian deaths in the area. The matter is under investigation. Indian Army stands committed to extending full support and cooperation in the conduct of investigations”.
A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) visited the ambush site on Friday.
The People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit, on Friday said it was behind the attack, but officials were yet to confirm its veracity.
Several parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday staged protests and demanded an impartial probe into the deaths of three civilians, according to news agency PTI.
“After the Poonch incident, 15 people were picked up by the Army for questioning from Topa Peer village, out of which bodies of three bearing injury marks were found near the encounter site. The remaining 12 persons are admitted to different hospitals and are in critical condition,” Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said at a press conference at the party headquarters in Srinagar on Saturday, according to a PTI report.
“I also watched a video that shows Armymen thrashing people and spraying red chilli powder on their wounds. It is a heart-wrenching video, however, I do not know about its authenticity,” she added, demanding lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha to initiate a probe into the incident and provide compensation to the families.
Earlier on September 3, LG Sinha had visited the houses of three civilians from Rajouri who were killed in a fake encounter in Shopian in July 2020, and handed over appointment letters to their next of kins. An Army court recommended life imprisonment for Captain Bhoopendra Singh, alias Major Bashir Khan, after a court of inquiry and a subsequent summary of evidence found that soldiers under his command had abused their powers under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in this case.
