SRINAGAR: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has advised the security establishment in the Union Territory to not let soldiers, paramilitary personnel and police take the law into their hands, according to the report published in the Economic Times. The Governor’s guidance to the top brass of the army, paramilitary and police forces came at a meeting after he was appointed as Lt Governor on August 6, officials told ET.
“A week after taking over the charge of J&K LG, Sinha had held discussion with the top brass of the army and made his opinion clear that action must be initiated into the July 18 Sophian encounter. Later, he also directed the police to probe the matter. Such actions were taken to deter trigger happy cops and jawans against unplanned, rash action in anti-terror operations,” the report quotes officials saying.
Around September 11, the family members of three men — Ibrar Ahmad, Abrar Ahmad and Imtiyaz – who were killed in the Sophian encounter, wrote a letter to Sinha over what they stated was “inordinate delay” in getting results of DNA tests performed on the deceased. They also sought justice on the grounds that innocent labourers were shot dead in a fake encounter. “The LG is said to have sought an update from the administration to ensure that laws are followed in the case. The J&K Police recently claimed that the DNA samples of the three persons killed had matched with their respective families,” the report added.
