Army to probe Shopian encounter after Rajouri families claim their three members missing in same area

An encounter last month in Shopian in South Kashmir has come under the authorities’ focus after families in Rajouri in Jammu region filed a complaint with the union territory’s police about its missing members from the same area, prompting army officials to launch an investigation.

On July 18, the army claimed that three militants were killed in the higher reaches of Shopian. However, no further details were shared.

   

On Monday, Srinagar-based Defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia issued a brief statement saying the army has noted social media inputs linked to the operations at Shopian on July 18, 2020.

The three militants killed during the operation have not been identified and the bodies were buried based on established protocols. The army is investigating the matter, the Defence spokesperson said.

The relatives of three youths, belonging to Dhar Sakri village in Kotranka of Rajouri area in Poonch, lodged a written missing report in the local police station after they lost contact with their kin on July 17.

In their complaint, the families informed the police that they had last spoken to the three, who were mainly involved in apple and walnut trading, on July 16 and they had said they got a room at Ashimpora in Shopian.

The same place was the site of the encounter the next day and since then there was no report about the three, the families said in their complaint.

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