Machil fake encounter: Army court gives life sentence to 5, including Commanding Officer

The Army on Thursday convicted five armymen, including two officers and sentenced them to life imprisonment for their involvement in a staged shootout in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district in 2010.

All service benefits of the 5 convicted armymen have also been suspended. 

"The army has handed out life sentences to five inc(luding) the Commanding officer in the Machil fake encounter case of 2010. This is indeed a very welcome step," Omar said in a tweet today.

Hailing the verdict of the General Court Martial, Omar said on twitter, "This is a watershed moment. No one in Kashmir ever believed that justice would be done in such cases. Faith in institutions disappeared.  "I hope that we never see such #Machil fake encounter type of incidents ever again and let this serve as a warning to those tempted to try."

On April 30, 2010, Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Shafi Lone and Riyaz Ahmad Lone of Nadihal Rafiabad, Sopore were lured to work as porters for the army and promised good money for the job. Instead they were taken to Machil where they were handed over to the army who killed them in alleged fake encounter branding them infiltrators, three days after they went missing.

However, on December 2013, Indian army decided to court martial six of its men including a colonel and major.

Anger had swept across Kashmir after the killing of three youth. The incident had sown the seeds of the 2010 agitation which killed 120 people in Kashmir.

Police had promptly registered a case and filed a 600-page chargesheet in the local court at Sopore charging 11 men including surrendered militant Bashir Ahmad Lone, Abdul Hamid, Syed Abbas of Territorial Army, Colonel DK Pathania who was commanding officer of 4-Rajput, Major Moriya, who was the adjutant and Major Upinder.

Army had ordered a high level court of enquiry by a brigadier level officer which has submitted the report after collecting the summary of evidence recommending the court martial proceedings against six men including Col Pathania, Major Upinder and four other ranks.