IGP Kashmir today revealed at a press conference that DNA of the Rajouri family members has matched with that of the 3 persons killed in Amishpura Encounter in Shopian on 18 July 2020. It's now scientifically established that same 3 missing persons have been killed in Shopian.

IGP Kashmir said that police would intensify investigation in the FIR already filed and proceed as per findings of the DNA report.

This has eliminated all doubts that the 3 civilians of Rajouri, who had arrived in for labour jobs, have been killed and labelled as militants.

There is no running from Justice and Justife must be delivered to every one. I have context of these killings by virtue of being a kashmiri myself and also from the era of unrest in Punjab. There are so many cases that don’t catch light of the day but those that do need activism.

Jaswant Singh Khalra gave his entire life for the cause of enforced disappearances in Punjab and then one day he disappeared too. This is not surprising & it is not even limited to the ruling party in state or the centre. My observations from Kashmir & Punjab are following-

1. The State machinery in India is largely in capable of handling the unrest coming from the population. The dissent in terror affected areas is largely viewed as ‘terrorism’ only. I don’t blame the cop on ground for this because he has only one ‘lens’ to see it & he does it.

2. The mounting pressures on the state police to prove that they are worthy makes them go to the extent of abductions & fake encounters. The immunity in terror reigned state is guaranteed from centre in most of such cases to keep the morale up. Glaring example is Sumedh Saini

Sumedh Saini’s Case can easily be used to understand the role of state immunity & protection in creating Frankenstein’s like him in terror affected areas https://twitter.com/amaanbali/status/1306247533069348864

3. Settling personal scores- In lot of cases in Kashmir, cops are known to have settled their personal scores using disappearances & encounters. This should not surprise anyone & denial of it would be gross criminal. All ex cops from JK & Punjab have revealed this fact.

4. The terror groups infiltration in local population. This factor is largely ignored in one sided debates on this matter. It is fact that infiltration does take place in local population & there is huge mistrust between cops & local population. In kashmir this is evident.

In one of the detailed study by an ex cop, he once told me that “we don’t know who’s who”. This clearly highlights the fact that police & common man relations need to improve even in the terror zones. Kashmir can be taken as a case study to create such an effective force.

5. Slow legal system- I personally know so many women who are waiting for their sons who just vanished. In Amritsar district I have met this one lady who waited all her life for her son who was taken by cops & never returned. Kashmir has so many cases of such people.

Debate thrown open highlights that even if we take the fake encounters & killings into account, a small %age of the run away kids also join the terror groups. For example in Kashmir, for every 10 missing boys, 6are known to join outfits while 4 are die in encounters or missing

6. State response to terrorism- I have largely believed that state response is very important & my context of two terror hit states tells me that Iron fist doesn’t work with own people unless you want genocides & eliminations of people.

I have highlighted this fact about Kashmir from time to time that no amount of success that our armed forces achieve by killing terrorists, they make 4 for every 2 we kill. I am of opinion that hard measures like deep state intel into the understanding of networks is important.

For example I have been reiterating since August 2019 that the common sentiment in kashmir is largely against the new policies & anyone implementing those would be targeted which resulted in killing of so many Sarpanchs every other day. The state failed to look deep into matter.

And when I say failed I don’t call it failure of SF’s against terror groups. Terror groups are still scared of SF’s and always will be. The number of terrorists killed has been far more than ever but then the number of locals joining groups has also increased.

Every government sitting in Delhi has looked at Kashmir as a short term problem that can give them something for their next term as well. No one has listened to Kashmiris to understand that we are tired of it. We are tired of being toyed around by both govt & terrorists.

I would end the thread by pointing out that the current regime has by far been the most successful in handling terrorism proactively which wasn’t the case with earlier ones but more needs to be done by taking Kashmiris on-board. We look forward to being prosperous again.