The Jammu and Kashmir police have started the investigation into the killing of a youth allegedly by the Army during an encounter in south Kashmir, official sources said.

A police team comprising an Investigation officer, assisted by two police personnel, has started the investigation on a complaint registered under section 302 of the RPC against the troops of 42 Rashtriya Rifles.

The complaint was registered on Saturday following massive protest by locals at Arigam village, alleging that the troops killed one Mohammad Afzal Kumar. The villagers alleged that there was no firing in the area and the troops killed Kumar without any provocation.

However, a defence spokesman said three soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer, were killed and two others wounded in a militant attack in the area. He said one civilian was also killed by the militants.

Sources said the police team had visited the encounter site where Kumar had been killed. The team will also record the statements of local villagers besides the RR personnel involved in the incident.

The allegation against the Army came at a time when, people in the Kashmir were already up in arms against the alleged custodial and fake encounter killings. Four police officials have already been arrested in connection with the killing of four civilians in fake encounters in Ganderbal area and later labelling them as foreign terrorists.

However, bodies of all the four were exhumed and samples taken for DNA tests recently.

More than 200 security personnel from different security agencies have been reprimanded so far for Human Rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. Four police officers were recently arrested for the killing of four innocent people in fake encounters.