Finding "prima facie" evidence, troops "exceeded" powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act during an encounter in Kashmir's Shopian district in which three men were killed in July this year, the Indian Army has now initiated disciplinary proceedings, officials said on Friday to PTI.
On July 18, the Army claimed three militants were killed in Amshipura village in south Kashmir's Shopian district.
"Committed to ethical conduct during anti-militancy operations, the Army initiated an inquiry after social media reports indicated the three men were from Rajouri district in Jammu and had gone missing at Amshipura", said Col Rajesh Kalia, the defence spokesperson in Srinagar to PTI.
The report stated of the probe being within four weeks.
The families of the three men from Rajouri who worked as labourers in Shopian had also filed a police complaint, it said.
In a brief statement, the Army said the Shopian operation contravened the dos and don'ts of the Chief of Army Staff approved by the Supreme Court.
"The inquiry has brought out certain prima facie evidence indicating that during the operation, powers vested under the AFSPA 1990 were exceeded and the Do's and Don'ts of Chief of Army Staff as approved by the Supreme Court have been contravened.
"Consequently, the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable," the statement said.
It is not immediately clear how many Army men are being proceeded against.
The evidence collected indicates the three unidentified terrorists killed in Amshipura were Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, and Mohammed Ibrar who hailed from Rajouri. Their DNA report is awaited.
"Their involvement with terrorism or related activities is under investigation by the police," the statement said.
According to the rules, a Summary of Evidence will now be initiated against the erring Army personnel after which Court Martial proceedings will begin. The Army has been maintaining high standards of transparency and punishing officials whenever rules are violated, officials said.
