Srinagar, August 13, 2011 : A Special Police Officer (SPO) and Territorial Army trooper who were arrested for the murder of a youth in Surankote area of Poonch in a fake encounter said that they engineered the killing for monetary and other gains.
"We had engineered this encounter for post, rewards and money," arrested SPO told a press conference in Surankote. The other accused and TA trooper claimed, "There was no involvement of any other army or police officer in the encounter".
Police party led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Poonch Ashkoor Ahmed Wani produced the SPO and trooper before media persons in Surankote in Poonch.
The involved trooper said, the SPOs are awarded if they kill a militant in an encounter by being regularized as constables in the police force and TA troopers are given money by the Army for the same. "To get these benefits, we engineered this encounter," he said.
The two arrested personnel said that they misled the police and Army while carrying out the encounter. Indian army officials had claimed of killing a militant commander Abu Usman in an encounter at Dobawali Doka in Surankote area of Poonch on August 8. However, it was later found that the victim was a mentally challenged civilian.
The police have arrested another conspirator in the encounter for giving the slain a pistol that was planted at the scene to substantiate their claims that he was a militant.
However, it was later found that the duo had killed a mentally challenged civilian under a conspiracy to get rewarded.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested another conspirator in the staged encounter of a mentally challenged man in Poonch.. Poonch SSP Ashkoor Ahmed Wani said Abdul Haq was arrested for giving the slain unidentified man's killers a pistol that was planted at the scene to substantiate their claims that he was a militant. He was booked under the Arms Act
Police on August 13 took samples of four persons including three members of one family for sending them to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Chandigarh, an Indian city for cross-matching with an insane youth killed in a fake encounter at Hari forests in Surankote area of Poonch district on the intervening night of August 6 and 7 for DNA profiling.
SSP Ashkoor Ahmed Wani said the DNA samples of Issaq Mohammad of Saj, Thanna Mandi in Rajouri district, his daughter Parveen Kousar and son Mohammad Afzal besides another person Mohammad Din of village Jaanu, Udhampur were taken on Aug 13 and sent to FSL Chandigarh along with the DNA sample of the killed youth, which had been taken before his burial and preserved.
He added that police have maintained a complete transparency in the case. At no stage, any attempt was made by police to shield the culprits, he said, adding this was evident from the fact that police had handed over the body of insane youth to a Moulvi for burial, who first pointed out that the youth hadn’t been circumcised.
However, he said the Medical Board had noted that the boy had been circumcised and that was why he was buried. He added that photographs of the body from all angles have been preserved for identification.
The SSP Poonch said police have a number of witnesses including employees of Hotel Krishna, Rajouri, where the boy had been kept for the night and some civilians in Surankote, who had seen the cop and the TA trooper taking insane youth to Hari forests.
Two families have come forward to claim kinship to an unidentified civilian, killed in an fake
encounter in Poonch district, police said Saturday. A senior police official said Issaq Mohammad of Saj village in Thanamandi belt of Rajouri and Mohammad Din of Jaganu village in Udhampur district have separately claimed that the deceased youth was their family member.
“They, however, have not produced any evidence in this regard. We will be verifying their claims through DNA tests and profiling. We will be sending their DNA samples to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Chandigarh for cross-checking. The youth would be considered kin of only that civilian, whose DNA samples matched in the FSL," he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that SPO Noor Hussain and TA trooper Abdul Majeed had lured the insane youth on the pretext of providing him good food. After picking him up from Gujjar Mandi, Rajouri, the boy was first kept at Krishna Hotel in Rajouri and given good food. Later, he was kept in the house of Abdul Rehman at Sangla and then taken to Hari forests before being killed in a staged encounter.
“The autopsy report states that the circumcision of the youth was done in a very immature manner. It does not prove whether he was a Muslim. The confusion is still there. At present we cannot say whether he was a Hindu or a Muslim”, IGP Jammu, Dilbagh Singh had told media men,