Life to 6 Armymen in Machil shootout
The six had bumped off three innocent youths in a fake encounter
The Northern Army Commander has confirmed the life imprisonment awarded to six Armymen, including two officers by an Army court for the killing of three youths in a fake encounter in Machil in Kashmir in 2010.
"The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen D S Hooda, has confirmed the sentence of the Summery General Court Martial (SGCM) in Machil encounter case,” PRO Defence, Northern Command, Col S D Goswami said. The six personnel — Colonel Dinesh Pathania, who was the commanding officer, Captain Opindra, Havaldar Devender Kumar, Lance Naik Lakhmi, Lance Naik Arun Kumar and Rifleman Abbas Hussain — were held guilty by the SGCM which sentenced them to life imprisonment in November last year.
The six Army personnel will now be handed over to jail authorities as legal proceedings have been completed by the Army. The incident came to light on April 30, 2010 when bodies of three youths were shown by Army as militants who were trying to sneak into the Valley from higher reaches of Machil in North Kashmir with arms and ammunition.
It had later claimed that they were Pakistani terrorists.
WHAT HAPPENED IN MACHIL?
The incident came to light on April 30, 2010 when bodies of three youths were shown by Army as militants who were trying to sneak into the Valley from higher reaches of Machil in North Kashmir with arms and ammunition. It was claimed that they were terrorists from Pakistan. However, it was later established that the three were unemployed youths and they were misled by the now convicted Army personnel on the pretext of getting jobs.
The Northern Army Commander has confirmed the life imprisonment awarded to six Armymen, including two officers by an Army court for the killing of three youths in a fake encounter in Machil in Kashmir in 2010.
"The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen D S Hooda, has confirmed the sentence of the Summery General Court Martial (SGCM) in Machil encounter case,” PRO Defence, Northern Command, Col S D Goswami said. The six personnel — Colonel Dinesh Pathania, who was the commanding officer, Captain Opindra, Havaldar Devender Kumar, Lance Naik Lakhmi, Lance Naik Arun Kumar and Rifleman Abbas Hussain — were held guilty by the SGCM which sentenced them to life imprisonment in November last year.
The six Army personnel will now be handed over to jail authorities as legal proceedings have been completed by the Army. The incident came to light on April 30, 2010 when bodies of three youths were shown by Army as militants who were trying to sneak into the Valley from higher reaches of Machil in North Kashmir with arms and ammunition.
It had later claimed that they were Pakistani terrorists.
However, it was established by Jammu and Kashmir police that they were unemployed youths Mohamad Shafi, Shezad Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmed and residents of Nadihal in Baramulla district. They were apparently misled on the pretext of giving jobs and later shot dead. Following the alleged fake encounter, a Territorial Army jawan and two others were arrested by police but the incident led to widespread unrest in the entire Kashmir Valley which left 123 people dead. Meanwhile, the victims' families welcomed the decision. "We want all the three locals also hanged , we will be happy then. They are the one who have taken the three youths to the Army camp," Showkat, brother of Shezad Khan told Mirror
WHAT HAPPENED IN MACHIL?
The incident came to light on April 30, 2010 when bodies of three youths were shown by Army as militants who were trying to sneak into the Valley from higher reaches of Machil in North Kashmir with arms and ammunition. It was claimed that they were terrorists from Pakistan. However, it was later established that the three were unemployed youths and they were misled by the now convicted Army personnel on the pretext of getting jobs.
