July 18 Shopian gunfight: Three ‘unidentified militants’ killed were Rajouri labourers, says Army

Srinagar: Army on Friday said that it forces exceeded powers vested to them in Amishpora encounter.

In a statement, the army said that the inquiry ordered by the Army authorities into Operation Amshipora has been concluded.

“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 (COAS) as approved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court have been contravened,” army said in a statement.

“Consequently, the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable.”

Army further said that the evidence collected by the inquiry has prima-facie indicated that the three unidentified militants killed in Operation Amshipora were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohd Ibrar, who hailed from Rajouri.

“Their DNA report is awaited. Their involvement with militancy or related activities is under investigation by the police,” army said.

“Indian Army is committed to ethical conduct of operations. Further updates on the case will be given periodically without affecting due process of the law of the land,” army said.