Army on Monday said that they have no system of cash rewards for its personnel working in combat situations in Kashmir.
This was stated by Army in a statement while reacting to news reports detailing police chargesheet that an Army Captain, involved in the fake encounter in Shopian in which three youths were killed, had hatched a conspiracy along with two civilians with the motive for grabbing a reward money of Rs 20 lakh and also fired at the victims even before his men could lay a cordon of the area.
Captain Bhopinder Singh is currently in the custody of the Army, with informed sources saying he may face Court Martial proceedings.
“There are media reports quoting that Amshipora encounter actions were driven by a Rs 20 lakh award for killing of militants,” PRO defence Col Rajesh Kalia said here in a statement. “It is clarified that Indian Army has no system of cash awards for its personnel for any acts in combat situations or otherwise in the line of duty.”
Kalia termed the reports as malafide. “The report is not based on facts of the processes internal to Indian Army,” he added.
The case relates to the July 18, 2020, fake encounter at Amshipura Shopian in which three youths of Rajouri district — Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar — were killed and branded as militants.