Police buried the bodies 100 kilometers away citing “law and order concerns”.
Srinagar:
The family of doctors Mudasir Gul and Ataf Bhat – two businessmen who were killed in a controversial encounter at J&K’s Hyderpora this week – defied the winter cold to organize a protest and a vigil under the sun. candlelight on Wednesday to demand the return of their bodies, so that relatives can give them a proper burial.
Among those protesting were elderly people, and they held up banners demanding justice. Family members told NDTV that a police officer visited them and made sure the bodies were returned.
“The officer said the body would be handed over and asked us to leave. We told her to ‘send it in writing, the body will be returned’. She said she would return.’ again after talking to a senior officer,” said a family member.
Humaira Mudasir, wife of Dr. Gul, lamented: “I only ask for my husband’s corpse… I don’t need anything else. I want to see his face. I want to touch his feet and seek forgiveness. I want to see him one last time and give my husband a proper burial.”
Humaira accompanied her 18-month-old baby.
In a heartbreaking video that has gone viral online, Altaf Bhat’s 13-year-old daughter tearfully describes the moment she learned of her father’s death. She talks about how some The police started laughing when she asked them why her father was killed.
Altaf Bhat, a famous local businessman, and Dr. Mudasir Gul, a dental surgeon, were killed in a Controversial counter-terrorism operation in Hyderpora on Monday. Police initially assumed they had been shot by terrorists but later claimed they may have been killed in the fire.
Police also declared both men “terrorist links” – an allegation that sparked an angry reaction from family members and critics of the J&K administration.
The families allege Mr Bhat and Dr Gul were killed in cold blood, as well as a third person – Amir Maray – whom police called a “hybrid terrorist” – of working as a maid in the office. doctor’s room.
Maray’s father, Abdul Latief Maray, insists his son was killed in a staged encounter.
Maray is a famous counter-terrorist fighter from a remote village in Ramban district who gained attention after killing a stone terrorist in 2005. He is the recipient of an Army Commendation. and then talks about how he raised his children “by keeping them in secret locations”.
“The rejection of my son’s body is a reward for our fight against terrorists. My house is still guarded by security forces – tomorrow they can kill me and claim that I am a warrior,” he said sadly.
Police said two pistols were recovered from the site of the clash in Hyderpora.
All the bodies were buried at Handwara, more than 100 kilometers from Srinagar, after police refused to hand over the bodies due to “problems of law and order”.
The whole incident prompted an angry reaction from mainstream political leaders, including the head of the National Assembly Omar Abdullah. The former J&K minister said denying the family the right to bury the dead constitutes a crime against humanity.
Defaming them as fighters or OGW is bad enough but taking the body away and forcing it to be buried in North Kashmir is a crime against humanity. The bodies must be returned to the family for burial. It’s the only thing & it’s the only humane thing to do.
– Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 17, 2021
Another former Minister, PDP boss Mehbooba Mufti. NSmarked a protest of her own in Jammu, demanding justice and an objective investigation into the murders. Her party said she wanted to join the families at their protest site but police denied her permission.
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