PM told me to convey to Rajouri families that they will get justice: LG Manoj Sinha

Jammu, October 9

Reaching out to the families of the three youths of Rajouri district who were killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district in July, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has said he was told by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey to them that they would get justice.

Expressing his condolences, the Lt Governor said the UT Administration would extend full support to the families and ensure that they get justice.

He also conveyed to the family members of the three slain men the "message" of the Prime Minister that the government stands with them in this hour of grief.

"I visited the families. I have expressed my sympathies (to them). I have assured them that the Prime Minister of India has asked me to convey to the families that there will be justice and they will be taken care of," Sinha told reporters in Rajouri after vising the families of the slain youth on Thursday.

On July 18, the Army had claimed that it killed three militants in an encounter in Amshipura village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir's Shopian district.

Later, it initiated an inquiry after reports appeared on social media that the three men were actually labourers from Rajouri district and had gone missing in Amshipura.

The families of the trio had also filed a missing complaint with the police.

The probe by the Army was completed in a record four-week time and on September 18, the force said it had found "prima facie evidence" that its troops "exceeded" powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) during the encounter. Disciplinary proceedings were then initiated.

Police also launched its investigation and collected the DNA samples of the families, which matched with the slain persons.

The bodies of the three men were exhumed on Friday last and laid to rest in their hometown in Rajouri district by the family members the next day.

The exhumation was done hours after Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh had said the legal process to exhume and handover the bodies to their families was on and would be completed soon.

Earlier, speaking at a ‘back to village’ event in Peeri in Rajouri, the LG said, "I am here to put before you the clear-cut intentions of the Government of India. The Constitution is supreme. It will not be right to take the law into your hands. The Constitution of India ensures justice to the poorest of the poor."

"The process of justice has started. The UT Administration and Government of India will take care of them (families of victims)," he added.

Sinha said the main objective of his visit to the remote village was to assure the people that the Constitution of India was supreme and the government was with the people and justice would be ensured. PTI