In the past,the Army has resisted any move by the J-K Police to get the custody of accused Army officials,including in the two highly publicised cases the 2007 Ganderbal fake encounter case and the 2000 Pathribal fake encounter case. In 2007,Rashtriya Rifles and J-K Polices officers at Ganderbal abducted and killed five villagers and dubbed them as militants. An SSP,his deputy,and five others were arrested. The Armymen whose involvement was established were never handed over to the police. When the Pathribal encounter in March 2000 was first reported,it was billed as a genuine anti-militancy operation. Within hours of this encounter,the then Union Home Secretary Kamal Panday and the then Union Home Minister L K Advani came on record saying the Army and police have gunned down five Lashkar terrorists,responsible for the massacre of 36 Sikhs in Chittisinghpora. The facts of this encounter would have never been investigated if there had not been a public agitation. The case was finally handed over to CBI,who not only concluded that the encounter was fake but also chargesheeted five Army officers. Ten years later,there is still a debate going on whether the CBI has the authority to probe the Army. These Army officers have been promoted during the pendency of investigation. The relief provided to the families was Rs 1 lakh each. In 2005,J-K Police investigations led to the expose of a large-scale fake surrender. Forty-one villagers from Chrar-e-Sharief were taken to Delhi and kept in Army custody for six months only to take part in a stage managed surrender ceremony in front of a Corps commander and DGP. The IGP,Kashmir,wrote letters to the Army,saying that two officers,including a Brigadier,were involved in this case. But nobody told these villagers or their families as to what happened to this probe. There was not even an apology,not to talk of compensation to these people. Though Defence Minister A K Antony and the Army top brass have vowed to take strict action in the case,there is little hope in Valley that the erring Army officers would be punished. They will invoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and say that the Army will conduct a probe internally, a senior officer said. The AFSPA provides legal protection to soldiers conducting counter-insurgent operations.
