Chattisinghpora, Pathribal, and Barakpora massacres - Revision history

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	Local villagers ensured that the local school was up and running just two weeks after the killings. The massacre created tension and distrust between the Sikh and Muslim residents of the area, but no problems developed at the joint Muslim-Sikh village school.<ref name = "NDTV_Inquiry"/>		Local villagers ensured that the local school was up and running just two weeks after the killings. The massacre created tension and distrust between the Sikh and Muslim residents of the area, but no problems developed at the joint Muslim-Sikh village school.<ref name = "NDTV_Inquiry"/>

	In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) associate [[David Headley]], who was arrested in connection with the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], confessed to the [[National Investigation Agency]] that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley]. ''Hindustan Times''. 25 October 2010.</ref> He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101026/j&k.htm#2 Chittisinghpura Massacre: Obama’s proposed visit makes survivors recall tragedy ]. The Tribune, Chandigarh. 25 October 2010.</ref>		In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) associate [[David Headley]], who was arrested in connection with the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], confessed to the [[National Investigation Agency]] that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101031025808/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley]. ''Hindustan Times''. 25 October 2010.</ref> He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101026/j&k.htm#2 Chittisinghpura Massacre: Obama’s proposed visit makes survivors recall tragedy ]. The Tribune, Chandigarh. 25 October 2010.</ref>

	==The Pathribal killings==		==The Pathribal killings==
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	'...While the DNA samples purported to have been collected from the relatives did not match those of the DNA isolated from the exhumed bodies, in three cases, the samples of women relatives were found to have come from men,' read the Times report.<ref name="dontneeddna"/>		'...While the DNA samples purported to have been collected from the relatives did not match those of the DNA isolated from the exhumed bodies, in three cases, the samples of women relatives were found to have come from men,' read the Times report.<ref name="dontneeddna"/>

	===Victims struggle for ~~Justices~~===		===Victims struggle for Justice===
	In their little village in the militancy-hit Anantnag district, the traumatised family of Zahoor Dalal waits for justice – if not from Dr Abdullah, then from the Almighty."I do not need DNA tests to recognise my son," Dalaal's mother Raja Bano told rediff.com "We had identified his body two years ago. Since the government wanted proof, we had given them blood samples. Now we are told those have been tampered with."<ref name="dontneeddna"/>		In their little village in the militancy-hit Anantnag district, the traumatised family of Zahoor Dalal waits for justice – if not from Dr Abdullah, then from the Almighty."I do not need DNA tests to recognise my son," Dalaal's mother Raja Bano told rediff.com "We had identified his body two years ago. Since the government wanted proof, we had given them blood samples. Now we are told those have been tampered with."<ref name="dontneeddna"/>
	Since her son's death, she has been unwell, subject to alternating fits of weeping and hysteria. The trauma has taken its toll on her daughter, Zahoor's younger sister, as well—she talks little, eats less, and faints frequently.		Since her son's death, she has been unwell, subject to alternating fits of weeping and hysteria. The trauma has taken its toll on her daughter, Zahoor's younger sister, as well—she talks little, eats less, and faints frequently.
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	===Another inquiry===		===Another inquiry===
	~~DR ABDULLAH~~, after an initial attempt to sidestep the controversy, responded with another inquiry. The chief minister told the state assembly that he was deeply 'ashamed there are agencies that can behave in such a manner.' He apologised to the assembly and promised that all those involved in collecting and sending 'fake' samples would be immediately suspended. And if found guilty by the one-member commission of inquiry he had just appointed, they would be 'dismissed and prosecuted', a Times report quoted him as saying.		Dr. Abdullah, after an initial attempt to sidestep the controversy, responded with another inquiry. The chief minister told the state assembly that he was deeply 'ashamed there are agencies that can behave in such a manner.' He apologised to the assembly and promised that all those involved in collecting and sending 'fake' samples would be immediately suspended. And if found guilty by the one-member commission of inquiry he had just appointed, they would be 'dismissed and prosecuted', a Times report quoted him as saying.
	Blood samples were once again collected from relatives of the five youth and sent to Kolkata and Hyderabad.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>		Blood samples were once again collected from relatives of the five youth and sent to Kolkata and Hyderabad.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>
	Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary Ashok Jaitley clarified the matter further. "We were naturally taken aback when we read that the samples had been fudged," he told rediff.com in a telephone interview. "The state government will get to the bottom of this issue, that is why we have appointed Justice G A Kuchay, former judge of the Jammu & Kashmir high court, to inquire."		Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary Ashok Jaitley clarified the matter further. "We were naturally taken aback when we read that the samples had been fudged," he told rediff.com in a telephone interview. "The state government will get to the bottom of this issue, that is why we have appointed Justice G A Kuchay, former judge of the Jammu & Kashmir high court, to inquire."
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	==Clinton controversy==		==Clinton controversy==
	The massacre coincided with the visit of United States president [[Bill Clinton]] to India. In an introduction to a book written by [[Madeleine Albright]] titled ''[[The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs]]'', she accused "Hindu militants" of perpetrating the act. Hindu organisations protested the statement, and ultimately the publishers, [[~~Harper Collins~~]], edited the statement out of future editions of the book. They acknowledged the error in an email to the [[Times of India]]:<ref name="Times">[http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA2LzA1LzE5I0FyMDE0MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom Clinton goofs up on J&K killings],''Times of India''</ref>		The massacre coincided with the visit of United States president [[Bill Clinton]] to India. In an introduction to a book written by [[Madeleine Albright]] titled ''[[The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs]]'', she accused "Hindu militants" of perpetrating the act. Hindu organisations protested the statement, and ultimately the publishers, [[HarperCollins]], edited the statement out of future editions of the book. They acknowledged the error in an email to the [[Times of India]]:<ref name="Times">[http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA2LzA1LzE5I0FyMDE0MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom Clinton goofs up on J&K killings],''Times of India''</ref>
	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	Page xi of the Mighty and the Almighty contains a reference to Hindu militants that will be deleted in subsequent printings, both in America and in international editions. This error was due to a failure in the fact-checking process.<ref name="Times"/>		Page xi of the Mighty and the Almighty contains a reference to Hindu militants that will be deleted in subsequent printings, both in America and in international editions. This error was due to a failure in the fact-checking process.<ref name="Times"/>
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	[[Category:History of Sikhism]]		[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
	[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]		[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
	~~[[Category:Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir]]~~
	[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]		[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]
	[[Category:~~2000s~~ murders in India]]		[[Category:2000 murders in India]]
	~~[[Category:2000 crimes in India]]~~
	~~[[Category:2000 murders in Asia~~]]
	[[Category:Massacres of men]]		[[Category:Massacres of men]]
	[[Category:Violence against men in Asia]]		[[Category:Violence against men in Asia]]
			[[Category:March 2000 events in India]]
			[[Category:April 2000 events in India]]

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The '''Chattisinghpora, [[Pathribal]], and [[Barakpora]] massacres''' refer to a series of three closely related incidents that took place in the [[Anantnag district]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] between 20 March 2000 and 3 April 2000 that left up to 49 [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]] civilians dead.

==The Chattisinghpora massacre==
{{main|Chittisinghpura massacre}}
On the evening of 20 March 2000, 15–17 gunmen, entered the village of Chattisinghpora, located in [[Anantnag district]]. They ordered all of the [[Sikh]] men and boys to assemble at the village [[gurdwara]], and systematically shot and killed 35 of them. Many others were injured in the attack, and least one man later died of his injuries. The sole survivor of the massacre was Nanak Singh [[Aulakh]], who recounted the events to reporters.<ref name = "NDTV_Inquiry">[http://ndtv.com/topstories/showtopstory.asp?id=4455 Inquiry into Chittisinghpura Massacre comes too late residents say], ''ndtv.com''</ref> This was the first time in the [[Kashmir conflict]] that Sikhs had ever been targeted. In the aftermath of the attacks, [[Minister for Home Affairs (India)|Indian Home Minister]] [[LK Advani]] offered the state's Sikh population additional protective measures, however the local Sikh leadership reportedly rejected the plan, saying that the Muslim majority had not been hostile to them before and that no protection was needed.<ref name=amnesty>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa20/024/2000/en/ A trail of unlawful killings in Jammu and Kashmir: Chithisinghpora and its aftermath]. [[Amnesty International]]. 15 June 2000.</ref> Mohammad Suhail Malik of [[Sialkot]], [[Pakistan]] confessed while in custody about participating in the [[massacre]] at the direction of [[Lashkar-e-Toiba]] in an interview with [[Barry Bearak]] of [[The New York Times]] although Bearak questioned the authenticity of the confession.<ref name="Bearak">{{citation|last=Bearak|first=Barry|title=A Kashmiri Mystery|date=2000-12-31|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001231mag-kashmir.html|quote=The conversation was mostly in Urdu, once again a language I did not speak. I could study his eyes but not his phrasing or inflections, the little clues as to what was being held back in the privacy of his head. When we left, I asked Surinder Oberoi, my journalist friend, if he thought Malik was telling the truth.<br/>'Yes, I think so,' he answered after a pause. Then he added a cautionary shrug and a sentence that stopped after the words 'But you know. . . . '<br/>Malik showed no signs of physical abuse, but, as with Wagay, the torture of someone in his situation would not be unusual. Once, over a casual lunch, an Indian intelligence official told me that Malik had been 'intensively interrogated.' I asked him what that usually meant. 'You start with beatings, and from there it can go almost anywhere,' he said. Certainly, I knew what most Pakistanis would say of the confession -- that the teenager would admit to anything after persistent electrical prodding by the Indians. And it left me to surmise that if his interrogators had made productive use of pain, was it to get him to reveal the truth or to repeat their lies?|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2009-11-04}}</ref> Suhail Malik is a nephew of [[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]] of [[Lashkar-e-Toiba]].<ref name=Bearak/>

The massacre, which took place on the eve of U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]]'s visit to the [[Subcontinent]], was widely condemned by both the [[Government of India|Indian]] and [[Government of Pakistan|Pakistani]] governments, as well as the leaders of the [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]] separatist movement. Although the [[Government of India]] and the state government of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] had not yet launched any official investigation into the massacre, they immediately accused two [[Islamist terrorist]] organisations, [[Lashkar e Tayyiba]] and [[Hizbul Mujahideen]].<ref name=amnesty/> The [[All Parties Hurriyat Conference]] however, accused the Indian government of carrying out the massacre to discredit the Kashmiri independence movement, while [[Syed Salahuddin]], head of Hizbul Mujahideen said: "Mujahideen have nothing against the Sikh community which sympathizes with our struggle. We assure them that there never was and there will never be any danger to Sikhs from Kashmiri freedom fighters."<ref name=amnesty/>

Local villagers ensured that the local school was up and running just two weeks after the killings. The massacre created tension and distrust between the Sikh and Muslim residents of the area, but no problems developed at the joint Muslim-Sikh village school.<ref name = "NDTV_Inquiry"/>

In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) associate [[David Headley]], who was arrested in connection with the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], confessed to the [[National Investigation Agency]] that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley]. ''Hindustan Times''. 25 October 2010.</ref> He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101026/j&k.htm#2 Chittisinghpura Massacre: Obama’s proposed visit makes survivors recall tragedy ]. The Tribune, Chandigarh. 25 October 2010.</ref>

==The Pathribal killings==
Five days after the events at Chattisinghpora, on 25 March 2000, Col. Ajay Saxena, Commanding Officer 7 RR (Retired Brigadier Now), Lt. Col. Brajendra Pratap Singh 2IC 7 RR (Retired Col Now), Lt. Saurabh Sharma of Military Intelligence 7RR (Retired Major Now), Lt. Amit Saxena Adjutant 7 RR (later Major) and Nb. Sub. Idrees Khan (later Subedar) of the Indian Army killed five men in Pathribal village of [[Anantnag district]], claiming that the victims were the "foreign militants" responsible for the attacks. Official reports claimed that security forces had, after a gun fight, blown up the hut where the men were hiding, and had retrieved five bodies that had been charred beyond recognition. The bodies were buried separately without any postmortem examination.<ref name=amnesty/>

Local observers and political activists doubted the Indian government's official reports however, pointing out that if there had been a gunfight, some of the security force personnel must have sustained significant injuries – but none were injured, except Major Saurabh Sharma, who suffered minor injury while abducting one of the civilian from the village. Over the following days, local villagers began to protest, claiming that the men were ordinary civilians who had been killed in a [[fake encounter]], not "foreign militants." According to them, up to 17 men had been detained by the police and "disappeared" between 21 and 24 March.<ref name=amnesty/> On 30 March, local authorities in [[Anantnag district|Anantnag]] relented to growing public pressure, and agreed to exhume the bodies and conduct an investigation into the deaths.

On 19 March 2012, The CBI ([[central Bureau of Investigation]]) told the [[Supreme Court of India]] that the fake encounter at Pathribal in Jammu and Kashmir 12 years ago in which seven people were killed by Army personnel "were cold-blooded murders and the accused officials deserve to be meted out exemplary punishment."
Senior counsel Ashok Bhan told a special bench of justices, B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar, that no prior sanction was required for prosecuting the Army officials and the need to ensure "public confidence in the rule of law and dispensation of justice" warranted their prosecution.
"Our investigations have revealed it was a fake encounter and cold-blooded"<ref>{{cite web|last=India|first=Express|title=Pathribal encounter 'cold blooded murder', CBI tells SC|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pathribal-encounter-cold-blooded-murder-cbi-tells-sc/925659/|access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=India |first=Express |title=Pathribal encounter "cold blooded murders," CBI tells SC |url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/PathribalencountercoldbloodedmurderCBItellsSC/925659/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730224306/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/PathribalencountercoldbloodedmurderCBItellsSC/925659/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 July 2012 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=The Hindu|first=The|title=Pathribal encounter is cold-blooded murder, CBI tells court|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3013556.ece|agency=Press Trust of India|access-date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321075058/http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3013556.ece|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In June 2012, the Army conveyed its readiness to a Srinagar court to try the accused personnel in the military court.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_pathribal-fake-killing-army-to-finally-try-its-men_1708065| title=Pathribal fake killing: Army to finally try its men | date=29 June 2012}}</ref> On 23 January 2014, the [[Indian Army]] closed this Case as evidence collected by it did not establish a prima facie case against any of the accused.<ref>{{cite web|title=Indian Army closes the case of 2000 Pathribal Shootings|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/01/indian-army-closes-the-case-of-2000-pathribal-shootings/|agency=Indo-Asian News Service|publisher=Biharprabha News|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref>

==The Barakpora killings==

===The Encounter claim by State Police===
Days later, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Dr A K Bhan claimed that his personnel led by Senior Superintendent of Police Farooq Khan, in a joint operation with the army, had shot dead the five militants responsible for the Sikh massacre.
According to Dr Bhan, the government forces had surrounded a hut in Panchthalan, near Pathribal, where the terrorists were hiding. The fierce encounter that ensued ended when the shelter, with all five inside, caught fire and was destroyed.<ref name="dontneeddna">{{cite web|title=I don't need DNA tests to identify my son|url=http://www.suryakumari.com/kashmir/dna.html|author=Mukthar Ahmad|author2=Basharat Peer|author3=Onkar Singh|author4=Syed Amin Jafri|name-list-style=amp|access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref>

===Investigation===
The special investigation team inquiring into the Pathribal incident approached the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Kolkata, with medical samples of the relatives to match with those of the slain men.
That was in 2000. Two years later, the controversy had faded from public memory when The Times of India reported that the samples from the relatives had been substituted with some others, a fact that both forensic centres had conveyed to the state police more than a year ago.
'...While the DNA samples purported to have been collected from the relatives did not match those of the DNA isolated from the exhumed bodies, in three cases, the samples of women relatives were found to have come from men,' read the Times report.<ref name="dontneeddna"/>

===Victims struggle for Justices===
In their little village in the militancy-hit Anantnag district, the traumatised family of Zahoor Dalal waits for justice – if not from Dr Abdullah, then from the Almighty."I do not need DNA tests to recognise my son," Dalaal's mother Raja Bano told rediff.com "We had identified his body two years ago. Since the government wanted proof, we had given them blood samples. Now we are told those have been tampered with."<ref name="dontneeddna"/>
Since her son's death, she has been unwell, subject to alternating fits of weeping and hysteria. The trauma has taken its toll on her daughter, Zahoor's younger sister, as well—she talks little, eats less, and faints frequently.
"Those who killed my son will not get away," Raja Bano said. "The government may help them, but Allah will not deny me justice."<ref>{{cite web|author=Mukthar Ahmad|author2=Basharat Peer|author3=Onkar Singh|author4=Syed Amin|name-list-style=amp|title=I don't need DNA tests to identify my son|url=http://www.suryakumari.com/kashmir/dna.html|work=Rediff.com}}</ref>
Her lack of faith in Dr Abdullah's government is founded on two facts. One, the state administration, despite knowing for a year that the samples had been fudged, did not make any effort to conduct a fresh test. It collected fresh samples from the relatives only after the controversy hit the front pages and forced an admission from Dr Abdullah in the state assembly that the earlier samples had been fudged. And two, even after the Times report, senior state government officials continued to maintain that they had not received any communication from the forensic centres.<ref name="www.rediff.com">{{cite web|title=I don't need DNA tests to identify my son|url=http://www.suryakumari.com/kashmir/dna.html|work=Mukthar Ahmad in Srinagar, Basharat Peer and Onkar Singh in New Delhi and Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad|publisher=Rediff.com|access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref>
Dr Syed E Hasnain, director of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, contradicted the latter claim.
"Certainly the report has been sent to the investigating officer [appointed by the Jammu and Kashmir judiciary]," Dr Hasnain confirmed to rediff.com "I cannot comment on the fudging... but we stand by what we have said in the report."<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>
Central Forensic Science Laboratory Director V K Kashyap told the Times: 'We had dashed off a letter to the J&K government immediately after we found the samples had certain serious discrepancies. Till date we have not received a single reply from either the state authorities or the investigative agency... We finished our investigations way back in December 2000, but how can we submit a report that is meaningless?'
'The samples,' he added, 'were obviously tampered with.'<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>
After the Times report was published, the state government admitted that the centres had written to it, and promised that it would undertake fresh tests. Meanwhile, the cover-up attempt has strengthened the Kashmiris' belief that the five men were not terrorists—a belief that some leaders of the local Sikh community also share.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>

===Response by Kashmiri Sikh Community===
"The five the government killed were innocent," Niranjan Singh, president of the Anantnag District Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, told rediff.com on the telephone. "They had nothing to do with the murders."
Ranjit Singh, former president of the Anantnag Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, seconded this opinion. "Nobody believes the claims of the government," he said in a telephone interview. "It is utter nonsense."<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>

===Another inquiry===
DR ABDULLAH, after an initial attempt to sidestep the controversy, responded with another inquiry. The chief minister told the state assembly that he was deeply 'ashamed there are agencies that can behave in such a manner.' He apologised to the assembly and promised that all those involved in collecting and sending 'fake' samples would be immediately suspended. And if found guilty by the one-member commission of inquiry he had just appointed, they would be 'dismissed and prosecuted', a Times report quoted him as saying.
Blood samples were once again collected from relatives of the five youth and sent to Kolkata and Hyderabad.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>
Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary Ashok Jaitley clarified the matter further. "We were naturally taken aback when we read that the samples had been fudged," he told rediff.com in a telephone interview. "The state government will get to the bottom of this issue, that is why we have appointed Justice G A Kuchay, former judge of the Jammu & Kashmir high court, to inquire."
Jaitley said any action against those involved would follow only after the commission submits its report, which would be within two months.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>
Kashmiris react with cynicism. This, they point out, is how the script read even earlier—suspension, court of inquiry, tests...
What compounds their cynicism is the fact that even as the state government sat on the communications from Hyderabad and Kolkata, it reinstated SSP Farooq Khan.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>

===Response of opposition Parties===
Dr Abdullah's political opponents condemned the incident. Such actions, they said, erode the people's trust in justice and fair play.
"It clearly shows the designs of the Farooq government," said former Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, People's Democratic Party leader and main rival of Dr Abdullah's National Conference. "It wants to cover up the killing of those five innocents."
True, agreed Mehbooba Mufti, Sayeed's daughter and PDP leader. "The Pathribal killing," she said, "is just one in a huge spate of grave human rights violations since the National Conference government was elected."
Another example she cites was the killing of 19 civilians, including a pregnant woman, in Poonch in 1997. "The state Human Rights Commission presented its report," she said. "But the government has taken no action till now against the surrendered militants and security force personnel involved."<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>
"What happens after an inquiry? Do they act on the recommendations?" she asked. "No, they don't," she said, answering her own question. "They just let it be."
Dr Abdullah's position on human rights, his critics allege, is visible in the incident that started it all—namely, the Chattisinghpora massacre.
"In any case," said Communist Party of India-Marxist legislator Yusuf Tarigami, "the basis of the protest at Barakpora was the killing of the five men at Pathribal. But the government kept that out of the Pandian Commission's purview, showing how bent it was on hiding the truth."
"Now Farooq Abdullah is talking of another inquiry, fresh samples," he continued. "But that will not achieve anything... People have lost trust in these inquiry commissions."<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>

===Allegations and counter-allegations===
There were allegations and counter-allegations—India said the massacre was the handiwork of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists; Pakistan-based terrorists alleged that Indian security forces were responsible. But there was no independent inquiry into the matter.
The chief minister asked Justice S R Pandian of the Supreme Court, who had inquired into the Barakpora firing and found the security force personnel guilty, to study the Sikh killings, but the judge refused to do so.
"Since he [Farooq Abdullah] was not interested in arriving at the truth, he let it be after that cosmetic exercise," his critics point out.<ref name="www.rediff.com"/>

===Victim Family continued Trauma===
Nothing expresses it better than Raja Bano's words: "I will give more blood, a thousand times if needed. But I don't think I will get justice from the government. Because they are the judges, they are the investigators, and they are the guilty." With no action being taken with regards to the promised investigation into the Pathribal deaths, the local population grew increasingly restless. On 3 April 2000, an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 protesters marched to the city of [[Anantnag]], where they intended to present a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner demanding the exhumation of the bodies. When they reached the town of Barakpora, three kilometres from Anantnag, the protesters began an unprovoked throwing of stones at an Indian paramilitary camp. Members of the [[Central Reserve Police Force]] responded by opening fire on the protesters, killing 7 and injuring at least 15 more, of whom 1 or 2 later died of their injuries.<ref name=amnesty/>

==Pathribal DNA cover-up==
On 5 April 2000, [[Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir|Chief Minister]] [[Farooq Abdullah]] ordered the exhumation of the bodies from the Pathribal killings, which began the next day. DNA samples were collected from the five bodies, as well as 15 relatives of the missing young men, and were submitted to forensic laboratories in [[Kolkata]] and [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]]. However, in March 2002 it was discovered that the DNA samples allegedly taken from the bodies of the Pathribal victims (all of whom were men) had been tampered with, when, according to a report from the [[Times of India]], lab workers found that samples had in fact been collected from females.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1862414.stm Kashmir massacre samples faked]. "[[BBC News]]," 8 March 2002.</ref> Fresh samples were collected in April 2002, which, upon testing, conclusively proved that the victims were innocent local civilians, and not foreign militants as the Indian government had been claiming for the past two years.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2131602.stm Kashmir massacre suspects 'innocent']. "[[BBC News]]," 16 July 2002.</ref>

==Aftermath==
The parties responsible for the initial massacre at Chattisinghpora remain unidentified – various theories have been put forward accusing both Pakistani [[Islamist]] militants, and Indian [[Ikhwan (Kashmir)|renegades]] – surrendered militants who cooperate with Indian armed forces. In August 2000, the Indian government announced that it had captured two Pakistan-based [[Lashkar e Tayyiba]] operatives, who, in December 2000, allegedly admitted to carrying out the attacks.<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/31sikh.htm Lashkar militant admits killing Sikhs in Chittisinghpura]. "[[Rediff]]," 31 December 2003.</ref> An alleged Lashkar militant, Mohammad Suhail Malik of [[Sialkot]], Pakistan, admitted to participating in the massacre. In an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', he stated that he had been trained in mountain climbing and marksmanship by the Lashkar, and had infiltrated into India in October 1999 carrying the equivalent of $200 for expenses. Malik went on to say that he knew nothing about the plot to kill the Sikhs until he stood in an orchard where the 35 people were killed, and had opened fire because he had been ordered to do so by his commanders. He stated that while "the Koran teaches us not to kill innocents...if Lashkar told us to kill those people, then it was right to do it. I have no regrets."<ref name="nyt">Bearak, Barry. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E2DD1138F932A05751C1A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 A Kashmiri Mystery]. "[[The New York Times]]." 31 December 2003.</ref> However, in the same article, the author decried the conditions under which the interview was conducted, and expressed doubt about the veracity of the confession. He stated that Malik gave few details in his answers, primarily repeating information from official police dossiers, and expressed concern that Malik may have been tortured while in custody.<ref name=nyt/> At one point in the article he states:
<blockquote>
"I wanted to interview the teenager once more, this time without the authorities present. Somehow, I thought I could win his trust, offer him an out, persuade him that he did not have to confess to the massacre unless it was true.<ref name=nyt/>
</blockquote>

On 10 August 2011, a Delhi court acquitted both Malik and another Pakistani national, Waseem Ahmed, of the charge of involvement in the Chattisinghpora massacre.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033915/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-10/india/29871318_1_pakistani-nationals-massacre-sikhs Sikhs' massacre in Chattisinghpora: Two Pakistanis acquitted]. "[[The Times of India]]," 10 August 2011.</ref>

Some human rights organisations have also expressed doubt about the veracity of these admissions. Independent inquiries by human rights activists from [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and the [[Ludhiana]]-based [[National Human Rights Commission of India|International Human Rights Organization]] have found that it is unlikely that the attacks were carried out by Indian security forces themselves, and that the perpetrators were most likely renegades.<ref name=amnesty/>

In 2005, Sikh organisations such as the Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society demanded a deeper state inquiry into the details of the massacre<ref name = "Tribune">[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051112/j&k.htm#3 Sikhs want CBI probe into Chittisinghpura Massacre], ''The Tribune''</ref> and for the inquiry to be made public. In the wake of arrest of an Army officer for [[Malegaon blasts]], Sikhs of J&K have demanded into the Chattisinghpora massacre.<ref>http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/08nov20/state.htm#10 Sikhs for judicial probe into Chattisingpora massacre "[[Daily Excelsior]]," 8 November 2008.</ref>

==Clinton controversy==
The massacre coincided with the visit of United States president [[Bill Clinton]] to India. In an introduction to a book written by [[Madeleine Albright]] titled ''[[The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs]]'', she accused "Hindu militants" of perpetrating the act. Hindu organisations protested the statement, and ultimately the publishers, [[Harper Collins]], edited the statement out of future editions of the book. They acknowledged the error in an email to the [[Times of India]]:<ref name="Times">[http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA2LzA1LzE5I0FyMDE0MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom Clinton goofs up on J&K killings],''Times of India''</ref>
<blockquote>
Page xi of the Mighty and the Almighty contains a reference to Hindu militants that will be deleted in subsequent printings, both in America and in international editions. This error was due to a failure in the fact-checking process.<ref name="Times"/>
</blockquote>

Clinton's office never clarified the statement.<ref name=Times/> In the hours immediately after the massacre in March 2000, the US condemned the killings but refused to accept the Indian government's contention that it was the work of [[Pakistan]]i [[Islamist]] groups. Clinton explicitly condemned the massacre by "unknown groups," and re-emphasised that point in his 2004 autobiography, ''[[My Life (Bill Clinton autobiography)|My Life]]''.<ref name=Times/> Similarly, in his 2004 book [[Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, and the Bomb]], Clinton aide [[Strobe Talbott]] confirms Clinton's misgivings about the massacre, pointing out that "he [Clinton] did not endorse the accusation that Pakistan was behind the violence since the US had no independent confirmation."<ref name="Tribune"/>

==Chattisinghpora massacre in film==
The massacre was depicted in the commercial [[Bollywood]] film [[Adharm (2006 film)|Adharm]] (unholy) directed by Adeep Singh.

==See also==
* [[Sopore massacre]]
* [[Gawakadal massacre]]
* [[Bijbehara Massacre]]
* [[Zakoora And Tengpora Massacre|Zakoora And Tengpora Massacre, 1990]]
* [[Kashmir conflict]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord missing|Jammu and Kashmir}}

[[Category:Mass murder in 2000]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2000]]
[[Category:Military scandals]]
[[Category:2000 in India]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:2000s murders in India]]
[[Category:2000 crimes in India]]
[[Category:2000 murders in Asia]]
[[Category:Massacres of men]]
[[Category:Violence against men in Asia]]