Srinagar: Seven Army men including two officers have been sentenced to life in jail for the 2010 killing of three Kashmiri youth in a staged encounter in Machil area near the Line of Control in Kupwara district. The service benefits of all the soldiers have been suspended, the Army said on Thursday, a day after an Army court-martial delivered the sentence.
The youth, Shehzad Ahmed, Muhammad Shaffi and Reyaz Ahmed, were lured from their homes in Nadihal village of Baramulla district by the soldiers with the promise of money and jobs but then shot dead near the de-facto border with Pakistan. The gruesome killings had triggered a 2-month agitation in Kashmir Valley.
The Army's court martial proceedings began in January this year and ended in September. All the soldiers and officers involved were found guilty of conspiracy, murder and falsely describing the slain men as terrorists.
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, said, “This is indeed a welcome step.” He tweeted, “I hope we never see such Machil fake encounter type of incidents ever again and let this service as a warning to those tempted to try.”
The army has handed out life sentences to 7 inc the CO in the Machil fake encounter case of 2010. This is indeed a very welcome step 1/n
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) November 13, 2014This is a watershed moment. No one in Kashmir ever believed that justice would be done in such cases. Faith in institutions disappeared 2/n
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) November 13, 2014I hope that we never see such #Machil fake encounter type of incidents ever again & let this serve as a warning to those tempted to try 3/3
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) November 13, 2014On April 30, 2010, Army said it had killed three terrorists in the Machil sector and claimed that they were heavily armed Pakistanis who had just sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir to carry out terror strikes.
However, Police and Army investigations spread over three years revealed that the trio was lured to relocate to the de facto border after being promised that they would be provided with jobs in the Army. As per the findings, Major Upinder of 4 Rajput Battalion entered into a criminal conspiracy with Abbas Hussein, a resident of Kamalkote village in Uri area near the LoC and a soldier of 161 Battalion of Territorial Army, whom he knew from his days with the Army intelligence apparently with a view to win medals and awards.
