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Poonch massacre: 3 arrested

Police on Monday arrested three persons in connection with the killing of 11 Muslims in Poonch district, even as they said preliminary investigations showed the motive behind the slayings could be family feud.

The Inspector General of Police, Jammu, P L Gupta, said preliminary investigations had brought another dimension to the killings and the motive behind this could be family feud.

The IGP, who visited the scene of massacre in village Salva-Bherah, said three suspects -- Anwar, Mohammad Smarief and Mohammad Taj -- had been arrested.

He said a hunt was on for the fourth suspect, who is a former special police officer.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah also said that the killings were a result of a feud.

"The details show that a special police officer of the state police, who had deserted the force a year-and-a-half ago, had conspired with some local terrorists to settle a family dispute," Abdullah said.

The police had earlier said that suspected foreign mercenaries gunned down 11 members of three Muslim families, including eight children and a woman, and seriously wounded two in Poonch district on Sunday night

PTI

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