July 18 Shopian encounter: CoI Under Progress, Says Army

Srinagar: Army on Tuesday said that a high-level Court of Inquiry set up by it into the July 18 encounter at Amshipora Shopian was underway.
Three militants were claimed to have been killed in the encounter by army. However, the families of three persons from Rajouri claimed slain to be their kin. They filed a missing report with concerned police following which the army ordered an inquiry.
“As intimated on 11 August 2020, a high level Court of Inquiry into Op(eration) Amshipora , Shopian on 18 Jul 2020 is under progress. Statements of key witnesses are being recorded and progress is being monitored closely,” Defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia said in a statement issued here.
“Additional civil witnesses are being asked to depose before the Court of Inquiry,” he said, adding, “Concurrently, DNA samples have been collected from Rajouri under the aegis of JKP and sent for matching with the (militants) killed on 18 Jul 2020.”
He said Indian Army is committed to “ethical conduct of all Counter Terrorist operations”.
“Cases where doubts are raised are investigated under due process as per the law of the land. Since the case is under investigation, further details will be shared periodically, as appropriate without affecting due legal process.” He added.