Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha should apologise to the families of the persons killed in the Hyderpora encounter as well as to the entire population of the Valley and called for stringent punishment to those involved in the incident.

Mehbooba, who led a protest march of her party activists from her ‘Fairview’ residence at Gupkar Road to the Raj Bhavan here, also demanded that the body of the third person — Amir Margay from the Ramban area of Jammu — killed in the encounter be returned to the family.

“Innocent people were killed in Hyderpora encounter. As LG is the head of the unified command, he should apologise to the kin of the killed persons and take back the blot on them of being militants or hybrid militants or OGWs.

“They should return Amir’s body, give compensation and the unified command should seek an apology from the people of Kashmir,” she told reporters.

The PDP president demanded a judicial probe into the incident to bring the facts to the fore.

“A judicial inquiry be conducted and stringent punishment be given to those involved in this (incident),” she said.

Mehbooba said there were “doubts” whether there really was a militant who the police claim was killed in the encounter.

“We have not seen the body or the face of the fourth person who is being labelled as a militant. We have doubts whether there really was a militant or whether they killed the three civilians unnecessarily,” she said.

She said there was a huge question mark on the whole incident.

“We have information, there is an allegation that they were made a human shield because they had a suspicion that there was a militant. But there is a huge question mark on whether there was a militant or not,” Mehbooba said.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister alleged that the country was being run on the BJP-RSS agenda.

“There are no rights here. They trampled upon the Constitution by abrogating Article 370. The country or J-K is not being run according to the Constitution. It is being run as per the agenda of the BJP-RSS which is to crush the minorities. There is more oppression here as J-K is a Muslim-majority state,” she said.

“They have taken out the funeral of democracy here. They do not allow anyone to talk, to protest. All doors have been closed, so they should seek an apology for this oppression,” Mehbooba added. PT

Press Trust of India