KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
A day after army confirmed life sentence to six of its personnel in Machil fake encounter, the PDP on Tuesday welcomed the decision and hoped for same judgments in other cases.
The PDP president Mehbooba Mufti who in Pulwama to address party workers at Town Hall said: “We welcome the verdict in Machil encounter case.” Mehbooba expressed hope that the other cases, where army is accused of killing innocents and indulging in gross human rights violations, would also meet same fate and the offenders would be punished.
Pertinently, six army men including two officers namely Col Dinesh Pathania, Captain Opendra, Havaldar Devender Kumar, Lance Naik Lakhmi, Lance naik Arun Kumar and rifleman Abas Hussain were awarded life imprisonment.
The Army Court had last year awarded life sentences to them for their involvement in the killing of three innocents from Nadihal in a fake encounter in Machil five years ago. This is the first case in the Valley in which Indian Army personnel have been awarded life terms on these charges.
On April 29, 2010, Shezad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi from Nadihal village of Baramulla were lured by two local counter-insurgency agents — Bashir Ahmad Lone and Abdul Hamid — and a Territorial Army soldier Abbas Hussain Shah to Kalaroos village in the Machil sector near the LoC. The three, who were promised jobs as porters and “good money”, were then killed by the soldiers near the Sona Pindi post and dubbed as “Pakistani terrorists”.
The PDP president said that the relatives and families of victims feel relieved if the accused government forces personal are punished.
