KL Report
SRINAGAR
Seven Army men, including two officers have been convicted for their involvement in the 2010 Machil fake encounter case. The General Court Martial awarded life sentence to all convicts and has also suspended their service benefits. Official sources reportedly said.
The 2010 Machil fake encounter case had triggered widespread agitation in the Valley.
Those convicted by General Court Martial (GCM) include the then Commanding Officer of the 4 Rajput regiment (the unit which was involved in the fake encounter) Col DK Pathania , Captain Upendra Singh, Subedar Satbir Singh, Havildar Bir Singh, Sepoy Chadraban, Sepoy Nagendra Singh and Sepoy Narinder Singh. Abbas Hussain Shah of Territorial Army was exonerated by the GCM.
Sources said that the court martial proceedings began in January this year and ended in September.
In 2010, three youth were gunned down in a staged encounter by troops near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district. The victims, who were from North Kashmir were lured to Kupwara with the promise of job and money, were dubbed as Pakistani militants who attempted to infiltrate.
