Police to seek custody of army officer in fake shootout case
By IANSThursday, June 3, 2010
SRINAGAR - The Jammu and Kashmir Police will seek the custody of an army officer accused of killing three villagers on April 30 in a staged shootout in Machil sector of the Line of Control (LoC), which divides the state between India and Pakistan.
“The accused officer has been identified as Major Bhupender of 4 Rajput rifles and we are completing formalities to seek his custody from the army,” a senior police officer said here.
He said the papers for custody of the accused officer would be sent to the army within two days.
Police have also decided to seize the weapons, which the army had claimed to have recovered from the slain villagers.
Three people — Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone and Muhammad Shafi Lone — belonging to Nadihal village in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, had allegedly been framed as separatist guerrillas and killed in a staged shootout by the army.
Police has already arrested a soldier of the territorial army and three informers of the army for hatching the alleged conspiracy to abduct and murder the villagers.
