Indian Army orders probe into suspected encounter of three labourers in J-K

SRINAGAR: The Army on Monday said that it has launched an investigation into the rumour that three alleged militants killed during an operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s southern Shopian district on July 18 were actually labourers from frontier Rajouri district who had arrived in the area a day before to earn their living.

"We have noted social media inputs linked to the operation in Shopian on July 18, 2020. The three terrorists killed during the operation have not been identified and the bodies were buried based on established protocols. Army is investigating the matter," defence spokesman, Colonel Rajesh Kalia, said in a statement here.

Earlier during the day on Monday, various political parties and human rights activists in J&K had demanded an impartial probe into the sudden disappearance of three labourers soon after they had arrived in militancy-infested Shopian from Rajouri on July 17.