The encounter on the outskirts of Srinagar earlier this week has raised a controversy. In a press conference, the top brass of J&K Police and Central Paramilitary Forces claimed to have gunned down three ‘militants’ who were riding a scooter. At a checkpoint in Lawaypora, security forces signaled a biker to stop. However, instead of obeying, the pillion took out a rifle and started firing indiscriminately. While a CRPF man was killed in the initial exchange of fire, the perpetrators were gunned down within moments. According to some reports, a person who was injured in the exchange of gunfire near the site of the deadly encounter boarded a passenger cab and was on way to the hospital when he was discovered by cops and taken into custody. In the presser, security forces claimed that the third person who was injured was also a militant. However, his family has rejected the claims. Not only that. The neighbours and acquaintances of the injured person have also vouched for his credibility. This has projected a confusing scenario which is further perplexed by the fact that the security forces claimed to have recovered arms and ammunition from the possession of militants. In numerous news reports, the family of the injured person has said that he was only a shopkeeper who got hit during the exchange of fire between militants and security forces, and was trying to get medical attention when he was ‘arrested’ by security forces. Two days after the police spokesperson claimed that the injured person was a militant, reports quoting unnamed police officers are now stating that the investigating agencies are “verifying” the antecedents as well as running a background check on the injured person. This ‘change of mind’ has further confused the situation and added to the agony of the victim’s family who have been traumatized by the turn of events since the encounter took place on the outskirts of the summer capital. The J&K police must clear the air on the issue and put a stop to the mental harassment of the victim, who has already gone through a lot, and of his family.  If there is evidence of the injured person’s involvement in militancy, it must be made public by the police force for its own good. However, if the victim is innocent, as his family and acquaintances have been claiming all along, he must be set free at once.