Saturday, November 23News and updates from Kashmir

Lolab Fake Encounter- High Court Issues Warrants Against DC and SSP Kupwara, DC Jammu

In the much-publicized Lolab fake encounter case in which four porters were killed during a staged encounter, the family of one of the victims has filed a petition in the Jammu Kashmir High Court seeking direction to respondents to place on record the outcome of the investigation.

In April 2004, four persons identified as Ram Lal, Satpal, Bushan Lal, and Ashok Kumar were killed by the army during an encounter in the Lolab area of Kupwara. Government Forces had immediately claimed that the four were Militants.
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However, later it turned out that the four were labourers from the Jammu division.

After the claims of the family, an FIR was registered in the Police Station of Kupwara under the FIR Number 69/2005. The families also sought that the court place on the record the report of DNA while seeking investigation through CBI.

Captain Sumit Kohli, who was the duty officer at the time of the encounter was found dead under mysterious circumstances, in his quarters at Kupwara in Jammu Kashmir on April 30, 2006.

Veena Kohli, Captain Kohli’s mother had met the then Defence Minister AK Antony and demanded that her son’s post-mortem report be re-looked at.

The family believes that Kohli was murdered by senior officers because he was going to blow the lid on the fake encounter.

Kohli had written a letter on June 20, 2005, which stated that Bhushan Lal had been killed in a fake encounter in Lolab on April 20, 2004.

That was the first time his father Lance Naik Madan Lal had heard of his son Bhushan ever since he left his home in the Manguchak area of Jammu on April 12, 2004.

In 2015, Veena Kohli submitted a request to Antony urging him to order a probe, independent of Army control, to get to the bottom of the truth over the death of her son, who was a Shaurya Chakra winner.

The Indian Army maintained that death was a suicide and that there were Army procedures under which civilian doctors conducted the post-mortem and submitted reports to the higher-ups in the Army.

The family has filed a petition on September 01, asking the court to seek details of the investigation.

In March 2021, the Additional Solicitor General of India was granted a week’s time to furnish complete particulars of the respondent before the Registry and this was in compliance with the earlier order dated 28.01.2014, read with the order dated 10.07.2020.

The respondent, Vishal Sharma, learned that ASGI has not been able to do so. He, however, said that some more time was needed on the ground that some of the respondents have retired and many posted at different locations.

On the request of Vishal Sharma, three weeks’ further time was granted to do the needful.

In the same order passed on 25.03.2021, this Court directed the Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara to remain personally present along with the relevant record of the case on the next date of hearing and the order was 2 OWP No. 542/2007 directed to be communicated to the office of learned Advocate General, Jammu for compliance.

As per Registry, the copy of the order dated 25.03.2021 was forwarded to the office of the Advocate General vide dispatch No. 4236 dated 07.04.2021.

“Despite having been communicated well in time, the respondents have chosen not to appear in person along with relevant record as was directed,” the order stated.

Interestingly, nobody from the office of learned Advocate General has chosen to appear for them.

In these circumstances, the Jammu Kashmir High court ordered that Court is left with no other option but to secure the presence of Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, and Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara through coercive means.

Accordingly, the presence of Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara and Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara shall be secured through bailable warrants to the tune of Rs. 15,000/- to be executed through Inspector General of Police, Srinagar.

The presence of Deputy Commissioner, Jammu shall also be similarly secured through bailable warrants to the tune of Rs. 15,000/- to be executed through Inspector General of Police, Jammu.

Both Inspector General of Police, Srinagar, and Inspector General of Police, Jammu shall submit compliance on or before the next date of hearing.

The court said that the Registry shall communicate this order along with warrants to the Inspector General of Police, Srinagar, and Inspector General of Police, Jammu respectively for compliance.

The case has been listed for 21 October 2021.

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