Machchil enocunter: Army to court martial Colonel, Major, 4 others

SRINAGAR: The Army has ordered a court martial against six soldiers including a colonel and a major over what was termed as a fake encounter that triggered Kashmir’s 2010 summer unrest. The agitation following the killing of three youths in the Machchil encounter had claimed the lives of 124 civilians and left around 2,600 injured.

Defence sources said they carried out “a very detailed and exhaustive enquiry” on the Machchil incident and sought the assistance from the state police as well. After recording evidences and witnesses’ statements, the involvement of the officials was established, they said.

Those in the dock are Col. DK Pathania, who heads the 4 Rajput Regiment, Major Upinder and four of other ranks. Police charge-sheet, however, had established the culpability of at least another officer in the rank of major. Five others involved are civilians who have already been held by the police.

It was alleged that the soldiers had on April 30, 2010 killed the three youths who were lured from north Kashmir’s Rafiabad to the Line of Control in Machil for work. The officers had claimed that they had killed infiltrators. Their bodies, buried in a local graveyard, were exhumed and identified on May 29.

A school boy, Tufail Matoo, was kil led on June 11 in Srinagar during the protests over the Machchil killings. His death triggered massive protests across Kashmir which continued until an all-party delegation of parliamentarians landed in Srinagar in September. On basis of this delegation’s recommendations, the then home minister, P Chidambaram, had appointed 3 interlocutors, whose report is awaiting implementation.