Army officer charged with staging encounter

Srinagar, Jan 10: Jammu and Kashmir Police has charged an army captain of stage-managing the Amshipora (Shopian) encounter to get the reward money of Rs 20 lakh.
The charge sheet presented by the local police in the court of chief judicial magistrate in Shopian district accuses Captain Bhupinder Singh, presently in custody of the army, of hatching a conspiracy with two locals to claim the reward money.
The two civilians are Tabish Nazir and Bilal Ahmaf Lone. The latter has now turned approved for the police.
The charge sheet says Bhupinder Singh fired at three innocent civilians in July last year in Amshipora village even before the forces had laid the cordon there.
“He later told the security forces that he had to fire as the militants were trying to escape,” the charge sheet says.
The charge sheet includes statements of four army personnel who were part of the team along with him during the “encounter”.
Three civilians belonging to Rajouri district of Jammu division who were working as labourers in Shopian were killed in this “encounter”. They were later identified as Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Ibrar.
The bodies of the victims were later exhumed and handed over to their families for last rites.
The army has also completed the summary of evidence in Amshipora encounter.
Sources said besides the criminal proceedings in a civil court, the accused captain is also likely to face a court martial for his role in the operation. (IANS)