On March 25, 2000, the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir police claimed to have made a breakthrough, killing five men they described as Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in what they called an encounter in Pathribal. These militants, the Army said, had been involved in the massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chittisinghpora five days earlier when then US President Bill Clinton was on his way to India for an official visit. The Army...

Supreme Court order on fake encounters in Pathribal, Kamrup   The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Army to decide whether its personnel involved in fake encounter killings in Pathribal in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam should be court-martialled or tried in regular criminal courts. If Army authorities were not keen on court-martial proceedings, the Central Bureau of Investigation could seek sanction from the Centre for prosecution of the erring officers, said a...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court's ruling on the requirement of previous sanction to prosecute soldiers accused of committing crimes may have clarified matters as far as the legal provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act are concerned but for the families of the five innocent men who were killed in a fake encounter at Pathribal, Jammu and Kashmir, in March 2000, it is still not clear whether or not they...

-The Indian Express The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Army authorities to decide whether its personnel accused of fake encounter killings in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam should be tried by court-martial proceedings or by regular criminal courts. A Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar said if Army authorities were not keen on court-martial proceedings, then the CBI could seek sanction from the Centre for prosecution of Army officers. Army...

-The Telegraph Assam has witnessed one abduction almost every two days this year. Despite militancy being on the decline, there has been no let-up in abductions in the state. Assam forest minister Rakibul Hussain today told the Assembly that 56 abduction cases have been registered in the state since January, which works out to 86 days till today. Replying on behalf of chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who holds the home portfolio, Hussain said between...