Hyderpora encounter: Families of slain civilians protest, demand return of bodies

  • | Wednesday | 17th November, 2021

Srinagar, Nov 17 (PTI) Amid biting cold, the families of two civilians killed in the Hyderpora encounter in Srinagar held a candlelight vigil after a day-long protest here on Wednesday, demanding justice for the victims and the return of their bodies. A controversy had erupted over Monday"s encounter in Hyderpora following conflicting claims about the two deceased civilians as their family members contested the police"s charge that they were "terror associates". According to the police, a Pakistani terrorist and his local associate Mohammad Amir, along with two civilians -- Altaf Bhat and Mudassir Gul -- were killed in the encounter, where an illegal call centre and a terror hideout were allegedly being run. On Wednesday, the families of Bhat and Gul held a protest at Press Enclave in the city, demanding that their bodies be returned to them as they were not linked to militancy. Police had said the bodies of all the four killed in the encounter were buried in the Handwara area of north Kashmir"s Kupwara district. After a day-long sit-in protest, the families held a candlelight vigil in the evening amid intense cold conditions across the Valley. The minimum temperature across the Kashmir valley settled below the freezing point while Srinagar city recorded the season"s coldest night at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius Tuesday night. The families said they will not leave the site till the bodies of their slain kin are returned for the last rites. Earlier, speaking to reporters, Altaf Bhat"s brother Abdul Majeed said his brother was a builder, a taxpayer and an innocent man. “You can verify in the whole locality. The police knew him, they used to visit his place every day, have tea with him, they can verify his credentials,” he added. Majeed said on Monday the “Task Force” (J-K police"s counter-insurgency unit known as the special operations group) came and took his brother thrice for searches in the building. “They took him upstairs and brought him down three times. They used drones. (It was) as if they were shooting a movie there. Unfortunately, an innocent Altaf was martyred,” he said. The family demanded justice and also the return of his body. “We appeal the LG, request him, that verify if there is anything (adverse) against my brother, then hang me in public in the city centre,” Majeed said. Mudassir Gul"s wife Humaira Mudassir, while breaking down, said his husband was innocent. The family also demanded justice and sought the return of their kin"s body. “We want justice. Give justice to his wife, his mother and father. Give justice to his one-year-old daughter Inaya Mudasir,” Humaira said. Senior Awami Itehad Party (AIP) leader Sheeban Ashai, who joined the protest during the day, said the civilians were used as human shields by the police. “I want to ask LG (Manoj Sinha) and India"s Home Minister Amit Shah that two innocent civilians were killed under their watch. How were they killed in the crossfire? Why were they not provided with protective gear when the forces took them for searches? That means they were used as human shields. That is the biggest loophole in the police story,” he said. Ashai said the civilians were killed in “cold blood” and even their dead bodies were not returned. He asked the Lt Governor to direct the police to return the bodies of the civilians. “We demand an inquiry headed by a retired high court justice in which two persons from civil society are also included. The facts of the case be kept in the public domain,” he said. National Conference functionaries also joined the sit-in protest demanding handing over of the bodies to their kin. Those who joined the sit-in included party spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, Youth National Conference provincial president, Kashmir, Salman Ali Sagar. Echoing the demand of the protesting kin of the slain persons, Dar and Sagar asked the J-K administration to hand over the bodies to the families for the last rites, an NC spokesman said. They also reiterated the party"s demand for an impartial probe into the killings, citing the precedence and pattern to fake encounters in Kashmir, he said. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was not allowed to visit the protest site by police after her return from Jammu, the party said. “On her return from Jammu PDP President @MehboobaMufti was on way to press colony to console with the family & participate in the protest, but police blocked the route & did not allow her to move towards protest site. Is demanding the dead body of civilians a crime now?” it said in a tweet. PTI SSB MIJ AQS AQS


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