Indian policemen chase away protesters (not pictured) during a clash in Srinagar. -Reuters Photo

SRINAGAR: A soldier and police officer have been arrested and are being investigated for murder after a civilian was killed in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian army and police had claimed they killed a Pakistani commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba militants during a gunbattle in Poonch region Sunday.

A police officer said Monday that further investigation found the dead man was a local Hindu resident and mentally unsound. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.

Omar Abdullah, Indian-administered Kashmir's top elected official, said the two arrested men confessed to passing the wrong information to the army, which led to the man's killing.

Rights groups have said in past cases that impunity laws and a policy of rewards for killing militants have led to abuses in Kashmir.