Completing general court-martial proceedings in less than a year, an Army court has recommended life imprisonment for a captain in connection with the killing of three men in a “staged” encounter in Amshipura in south Kashmir in July 2020, officials said here on Sunday.

Captain Bhoopendra Singh was subjected to court martial after a Court of Inquiry and Summary of Evidence found that troops had “exceeded” powers vested under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), they said.

The life sentence is subject to confirmation by higher army authorities, the officials said.

Declining to comment, the army sources said the process involved in such matters is still on.

The three men hailing from Rajouri district of Jammu region – Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar – were killed in a remote hilly village in Shopian district on July 18, 2020 and labelled as “militants”.

However, as doubts were raised on social media over the killings, the Army promptly constituted a Court of Inquiry which found prima facie evidence that the troops had “exceeded” powers vested under AFSPA.

The Court of Inquiry was followed by the Summary of Evidence, which was completed in the last week of December 2020.

The Army had issued a statement saying “the process of recording the Summary of Evidence has been completed.

“The same is being examined by the authorities concerned in consultation with legal advisors for proceeding further.” “The Indian Army is committed to the ethical conduct of operations,” it had said.