# Thousands protest alleged fake encounter in Kupwara 2026-08-17T07:26:15+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Thousands of people protested in the Rafiabad area of Baramulla district on Saturday against the alleged fake encounter killing of three youths in Kupwara district. The police used rubber bullets, teargas, and canes to stop a protest march, leaving at least seven injured. The crowd refused to bury the bodies until action was taken against those responsible. The three victims, Mohammad Shafi, Shehzad Ahmad, and Riyaz Ahmad, were killed on April 30 in Machil sector and were labelled militants by the Army. The police have arrested three individuals, including a special police officer and a Territorial Army soldier, for involvement in the killings. The Hindu reports that two senior officers of the Army unit involved are being recalled for investigation, though no Army official has been booked yet. A murder case has been registered. The protests also included anti-India slogans, while a separate shutdown call by the Hurriyat Conference paralysed normal life in Kashmir against Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit. ## Coverage - thehindu.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Baramulla, Hurriyat Conference, Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Kupwara, Sonia Gandhi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/thousands-protest-alleged-fake-encounter-in-kupwara/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/thousands-protest-alleged-fake-encounter-in-kupwara/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/