Shopian encounter: Army finds ‘prima facie’ evidence against troops for misusing powers under AFSPA

Srinagar, Sep 18: The Army has found "prima facie" evidence its troops violated powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act during an encounter in Kashmir's Shopian district in which three men were killed in July this year and has initiated disciplinary proceedings, officials said on Friday.

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 hailed from Rajouri district of Jammu region 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 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," a brief statement from the Army said.