Army starts recording statements of witnesses in Shopian encounter case

Srinagar, Aug 18 (IANS) The army has started recording the statements of witnesses in the July 18 encounter in South Kashmir's Shopian in which three suspected militants were killed.

The three killed had been reportedly identified as missing labourers from Rajouri in Jammu on the basis of photographs released by the families.

In a statement the army said a high level Court of Inquiry into operation Amshipora Shopian is under progress.

"Statements of key witnesses are being recorded and progress is being monitored closely. Additional civil witnesses are being asked to depose before the Court of Inquiry. Concurrently, DNA samples have been collected from Rajouri under the aegis of JKP and sent for matching with the terrorists killed on 18 July 2020," the army said.

The statement further said that the Indian Army is committed to ethical conduct of all counter terrorist operations.

"Cases where doubts are raised are investigated under due process as per the law of the land. Since the case is under investigation, further details will be shared periodically, as appropriate without affecting due legal process," the army said.