Indian cops charge army officer, civilian

Indian police in Kashmir filed charges against an army officer and a civilian for allegedly killing three labourers and planting weapons to pass them off as militants, in a rare indictment of the military fighting an insurgency in the region.

The three labourers were killed in July after what the Indian army had initially said was a gun battle that started after militants fired at security forces in Amshipora village in southern Kashmir.

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But Kashmir police, who come under the direct control of the central government in New Delhi, said in a press release on Sunday that their investigation showed the labourers "were murdered" by an army captain and two civilians - one of whom turned state's evidence.

"They planted illegally acquired weapons and material on their dead bodies after stripping them of their identities," police said, adding that the accused had "deliberately and purposefully" chosen not to follow standard operating procedures.

The Indian army declined to comment on the police statement on Sunday.

In an update last week, an army spokesman said that it was progressing with its own investigation, adding that the army was "committed to ethical conduct of operations."

Rights groups have long accused the Indian army of violating human rights in Kashmir, a Muslim majority region that is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, but ruled in part by both.