The Indian Army’s Northern Command on Monday confirmed the life sentences of six army personnel, including two army officers in the 2010 Machil fake encounter case.
“General Officer Commanding in Chief, Northern Command, Lieutenant General DS Hooda has confirmed the sentence of the summary general court martial in the Machil encounter case,” spokesman of the Udhampur based Army’s Northern Command Colonel SD Goswami said in a statement.
“Colonel Dinesh Pathania, Captain Upendra, Havildar Devender Kumar, Lance Naik Lakhmi, Lance Naik Arun Kumar and Rifleman Abbas Hussain have been awarded life imprisonment,” the statement said.
The army court had last year awarded them life sentences for their involvement in the killing of three Kashmiris in a fake encounter in Machil five years ago.
In April 2010, the army had claimed killing three guerrillas in Machil sector on the Line of Control in Kupwara district during an infiltration bid. Subsequent investigation, however, revealed that the three persons killed were civilians who were lured on the promise of providing jobs but killed in a fake encounter.
This is the first case in the Valley in which Indian Army personnel have been awarded life terms on these charges.
There was a public outcry after photographs of those killed in the alleged encounter were released, as relatives and neighbours of the slain persons claimed that the three civilians were framed and killed in a stage managed gunfight and they were not connected with militancy in any way.
