The bodies of businessman Altaf Ahmed Bhat and doctor-turned-real estate developer Dr Mudasir Gul, who were killed in the controversial Hyderpora encounter in Srinagar, were exhumed at Handwara in Kupwara to be handed over to their families for burial.
On November 15, Jammu and Kashmir Police had said they had killed four people at Hyderpora in an encounter in a building owned by Bhat.
IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, in a press conference, had said four persons were killed in the encounter in Srinagar, including a foreign militant identified as Haider, his associate, and Gul who was allegedly an over ground worker (OGW) of militants. He said the building owner was killed in the crossfire.
Kumar said the bodies of Bhat and Gul were not handed over to their families for burial in view of the law and order situation.
However, the families contested the police’s claim about the encounter. They said Bhat and Gul had nothing to do with militancy and demanded their bodies for last rites as per the religious customs.
Father of one of the alleged militants, Amir Ahmad Magray, who was also killed in the encounter, rubbished the police claim that his son was a militant and said Magray had nothing to do with militancy. He too demanded his son's body for burial.
As the Police’s version appeared less convincing amid eyewitness accounts about the events that unfolded when the police and CRPF team raided the building where Gul had set up an office and hired Magray as an office boy, outrage grew in Kashmir over the killing of the three civilians.
Families of Bhat and Gul then sat on a protest at Press Enclave, demanding that the bodies be returned. The police, however, forcibly evicted them on Wednesday night and took them into preventive custody.
Gull’s wife, Hmaira Mudasir, their relatives and family members of Bhat continued to protest and made fervent appeals to J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to return the bodies. Political parties and civil society members lent support to the demand.
Fearing more protests, the bodies the duo were exhumed on Thursday evening under the supervision of tehsildar of Handwara and a team of doctors.
Sources said the families have agreed to limit the number of people attending the funeral. Besides, restrictions have been imposed in the area to prevent any “law and order” situation. Bhat's brother, who had appealed to Sinha to intervene in the matter, thanked him for help.
