Records show J-K police had big role in 2000 fake

Express News Service> Posted online: Monday, May 15, 2006 at 0000 hrs > > http://indianexpress.com/story/4463.html
NEW DELHI, MAY 14: While the CBI has chargesheeted> five Army officers, including a Brigadier, for the> killing of five civilians in a fake encounter in> Pathribal six years ago, the fact remains that the J-K> police too played a major role in the encounter. This> is what The Indian Express found out:> > Advertisment> Related Stories> > Blame J-K cops, not just us for Pathribal: Brigadier> to DGMO For own survival, J-K govt hushed up sex> scandal two years agoBar Association plea gets PIL> treatment Prostitution legal in J&K, govt plans to> scrap old law J-K sex racket: BSF begins internal> probe> > • The FIR filed by the 7 Rashtriya Rifles described> the fake encounter as a "joint operation" with J-K> Police> > • Daily diary reports of Sherbagh police post clearly> indicates that on the orders of the then Anantnag SSP,> Farooq Khan, a SoG (Special Operations Group) party> was sent for a "secret operation". In fact, ASI Bashir> Ahmad wrote about the "secret mission" in his> departure report> > • Tajinder Singh, then DySP (SOG) Anantnag, and Col> Ajay Saxena explained the "joint RR-police operation"> with the help of an extensive site map to then Union> Home Minister L K Advani, giving graphic details about> the killing of five Pak-based Lashkar terrorists who> were behind the massacre of Sikhs in Chittisinghpora> > • Advani congratulated the police and Army for the> operation and even had a group picture taken with the> police and Army officers. Cash awards were also> announced for the officers> > • Kashmi Zonal Police headquarters issued a press> statement, claiming that five Lashkar terrorists> responsible for the Chittisinghpora massacre had been> eliminated in a joint RR-Police operation. The then> Union Home Secretary Kamal Pandey gave a similar> statement at a press conference in New Delhi> > • Mohammad Yaqoob Wagay alias Chatti Guru, a local> milkman, was picked up a few days after the March 20,> 2000 Chittisinghpora massacre by the police for> allegedly "guiding" the killers to the village. Union> Home Secretary Kamal Pandey announced his arrest in> New Delhi and the police and RR claimed that based on> Wagay's "leads", they had killed five Lashkar> terrorists> > • Nine months later, Anantnag Police admitted that the> police had no corroborative evidence to chargesheet> Wagay and that they have reduced the charge from> multiple murder to "trying to breach peace (CrPC> 107/151)"> > • Once the CBI established that the five killed in the> joint police-RR operation were actually civilians, the> question is: who picked up the civilians? The J&K> Police itself established that a Maruti van was used> to ferry one of the victims, Zahoor Ahmad Dal, from> Anantnag.> > This van was a seized vehicle, in the custody of the> police.>