Police in Indian Kashmir have examined the remains of three suspected militants following claims that the Indian army faked the shoot-out that allegedly killed them.
Police exhumed the bodies Friday after Indian Kashmir's top elected official, Omar Abdullah, ordered a fast-track investigation.
The Indian army said it killed the three militants during a gunbattle April 30 near the border with Pakistan. Army officials said the men had crossed over with assault rifles and ammunition. But shortly after the incident, residents of Nadihal saw photographs and identified the dead as young men who had disappeared from their village days earlier.
An Indian army official said the military is awaiting the results of the police investigation and promised that action would be taken if wrongdoing is established.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in its entirety by both. The neighbors have fought two wars over the region.
Human rights groups accuse the Indian military of carrying out extra-judicial killings and other crimes. Indian authorities have dismissed the allegations.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
