Why Shopian Encounter Got Probed
On 18 July, a Rashtriya Rifles battalion of the Indian Army killed “three unidentified militants who had fired at soldiers” in Amshipora, a village near Shopian, and “… the bodies were buried based on established protocols”.
Days later, three families in Dhar Sakri village in Rajouri (Jammu division) complained that those killed were innocent three cousins—Imtiyaz Ahmad (26), Ibrar Ahmad (18) and Mohd Ibrar (21)—who had travelled to Shopian to work as labourers in orchards.
According to the families, Imtiyaz Ahmad was already working in Shopian as a labourer and had called the other two, saying there is work available. The latter left Rajouri on 16 July, reached Shopian district and rented a room. On 18 July, the families reportedly lost contact with all three, but presumed they may have been quarantined on account of inter-district…