Police and army officials are tight-lipped about the case.
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Police have arrested a Territorial Army man in Kupwara from his native village Dardpora following the orders by Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district.
A territorial army man arrested in connection with the disappearance of two Kupwara men was remanded to two-day police custody on Wednesday.
The accused TA trooper of 160 Battalion, Manzoor Ahmad Khwaja of Satboyan Dardpora was arrested on Tuesday on the complaint lodged by the relatives of Ghulam Jeelani Khatana (52) of Sajan Nari Dardpora Kralpora, Mir Hussain Khatan (55) of Gujran Dardpora Kralpora and Ali Mohammad Sheikh (40) of Checkpora Trehgam.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Gareeb Dass said Manzoor was detained by the police after the family members of three villagers lodged a complaint that their kin have been missing since November 17.
The families claim that they were in touch till the end of last month with Manzoor Khwaja, who told them that their kin were engaged in Keran sector as porters by the Army. Court had asked police to speed up the investigation of this case.
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In 2010, an armyman and an informer lured three villagers with a promise of job and later killed them in a fake encounter at Machil near the Line of Control. An FIR vide number 100/2015 under section 364 already stand registered in police station. The family members perceive both Jeelani and Mir Hussain might have got killed in a fake encounter on the pattern of Machil encounter. Days after the encounter villagers of Nadihal in Sopore, 70 km northwest of Srinagar, filed a missing report of three youth with the police. Full cooperation is being extended by Army in investigations which are in progress. “Individual has given his statement to the police”, PRO, Defence, Col N N Joshi said in a statement. Army denies any case of fake encounter as alluded to in some dailies. “Winter is approaching and we fail to understand how to earn a living now”, he said and demanded thorough probe to locate his missing father.
