M A I N   N E W S

2010 machil fake encounter case in j&k
Army convicts two officers, 5 others
General Court Martial awards life sentence to all convicts, suspends service benefits
Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 12
The Army has convicted seven of its men, including two officers, involved in the 2010 Machil fake encounter case that had triggered widespread agitation in the Valley. All convicts have been awarded life imprisonment and their service benefits have been suspended.

Senior defence officials in J&K and New Delhi have confirmed the conviction of seven Armymen.

Those convicted by General Court Martial (GCM) include the then Commanding Officer of the 4 Rajput regiment (the unit which was involved in the 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.

The court martial proceedings began in January this year and ended in September. The soldiers were found guilty of killing civilians, hatching a conspiracy and later branding the dead as Pakistani militants.

On April 29, 2010, two counter-insurgents along with Territorial Army rifleman Abbas Hussain lured three youths from Nadihal village in north Kashmir — Shezad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi — to Kalaroos in Kupwara district with the promise of job and money.

The three were killed in a staged encounter by troops near the LoC and dubbed as Pakistani militants attempting to infiltrate.

The proceedings in the case were presided by Brigadier Deepak Mehra of Kupwara-based 68 Mountain Brigade. The GCM consisted of eight members headed by Mehra. The proceedings were preceded by recording the ‘summary of evidence’ and before that a Court of Inquiry was conducted by the Army. The two civilian accused named in the chargesheet are Bashir Ahmad Lone and Abdul Hamid Bhat. They are facing trial in the Baramulla Sessions Court . The J&K police had on July 15, 2010, presented a chargesheet against 11, including eight Armymen, a TA solider and two civilians under Section 302 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sopore.

The encounter diaries

• April 30, 2010: Three Pak infiltrators killed in the Machil sector along the LoC, says Army
• Slain persons turn out to be missing local civilians
• May 27, 2010: The J&K government orders probe
• July 15, 2010: The police chargesheet Armymen. Col DK Pathania, CO of 4 Rajput Rifles, and two other officers named as main accused
• July 27, 2012: Sopore CJM allows the Army to try the accused Col, two officers and four soldiers in a military court
• March 18, 2013: The HC permits the Army to try TA rifleman Abbas Hussain Shah under court martial proceedings
• Jan 2014: General Court Martial proceedings begin. One Major exonerated