Opinion In fake encounter case at Amshipora, a welcome development

The recommendation of a life sentence by an Army court to a captain serving in the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu & Kashmir for staging a fake encounter of three men in Rajouri in Amshipora, a village in Shopian, is a welcome development. It is a step towards reining in impunity in the armed forces deployed in civilian areas in the country’s trouble spots. The Army must accept the recommendation, and furthermore, ensure that it does not drop the ball as the case moves on to the next stage in the armed forces tribunal or the civil court. This is not the first time, of course, that an Army court has sentenced its own personnel for involvement in an extra-judicial killing. In the infamous Machil case, the Army court’s conviction and life sentence to six personnel was suspended by the Armed Forces Tribunal in 2017. In 2018, seven army personnel given a life sentence for a 1994 fake encounter in Assam were let off because the Army did not accept the recommendation of its court. In the Rajouri case — all three victims were from the same family, the youngest only 16 — and the motive was apparently to claim a Rs 20 lakh reward given by the security forces for information leading to the capture or killing of terrorists. The three men had trekked from their village in the Jammu region to Kashmir in mid-2020 looking for work. They were picked up from their rented home in Amshipora, and shot in cold blood. As part of the plan, weapons were planted on the victims; and police and CRPF reinforcements were called in to throw a real cordon around the encounter site. The first sign of something amiss was the police distancing itself from the encounter. It was only after family members reported the victims missing, and their photos matched with those of “militants” in the staged encounter that the story began to unravel, with DNA tests confirming the worst fears.

In Kashmir or in the North-east, the soldier is up against ardous challenges on a daily basis. But it is precisely when the Army is posted in such areas, where its job can sometimes range it against sections of the civilian population, that it needs to be on guard and act with utmost responsibility and sensitivity. In many cases, though, armed forces personnel seem to take for granted the immunity provided under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The immunity provision is meant to cover actions committed in the course of duty, but all too often it is used to cover up misdeeds.

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It is commendable that in this case, the army, prodded by civilian authorities, acted promptly after prima facie evidence of wrongdoing emerged, including through a police investigation. A formal court of inquiry followed. A summary of evidence proceedings paved the way for a court martial. However, other controversial encounters have taken place in Kashmir since then. In Amshipora and elsewhere, the larger message has to go home — that there is zero tolerance for such crime.