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:

• 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

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