Srinagar: There was peace in two Srinagar families until they were told that their bread earners were killed in an encounter at Hyderpora on Monday evening. Since then, their shock and grief has only been aggravated by helplessness and desperation as they confront the horror that even the bodies of their loved ones may not be given to them.
The 44-year-old businessman Altaf Bhat, and Mudasir Gul, a dentist-turned-businessman from Srinagar’s Rawalpora, were among the four killed in Monday’s encounter at Hyderpora. While police dubbed Gul as an ‘over ground worker’ (term for those who allegedly work for militants) and said Bhat was killed in ‘crossfire’, the families of the duo vehemently countered the police claim and asserted that both of them had no links with militants and were forcibly taken by the police to the encounter site.
“It was around 10pm when it was confirmed that he was killed,” said a close relative of Bhat’s family. “Since then, in various groups, we have reached out to police, asking them to return the body. One group was at the Police Control Room Srinagar till 2 am when they were told to leave. Later we held a protest at the Barzulla bridge, from where we were again removed. Then two separate meetings were held with DIG and IGP Kashmir, who told us that a meeting will be held to decide whether the body will be returned to the family or not.”
The relative said they have heard nothing from the police since then.
On Monday, at around 4:30pm, a cordon and search operation was started in Hyderpora which led to the killing of four men, of whom one is said to be a foreign militant and another from Qazigund. Altaf Bhat, as per his relative, was asked to accompany the armed forces to the building twice for a search, and on the third time, Mudasir Gul was taken along, and then they were both killed.
Police have said that Altaf was killed in crossfire, while Mudasir was working as OGW. Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar even said that Mudasir had given shelter to the militant who was killed. Mudasir’s mother said that this was not true.
At press enclave Srinagar, the mother of Mudasir Gul said that her son was a doctor and had no links with any militants.
“He was not an OGW; he was just a doctor who was earning for his family,” she said and added that the family wants his body to perform his last rites. “My son was innocent. Why was he killed? What was his crime?” she questioned.
Altaf is survived by his three children, the eldest 14 years old, and his wife. He was in a business associated with construction work, and was the owner of the building that he had rented out and where the militants were killed.

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Junaid Nabi Bazaz