Says nobody knows about the militant killed in shootout

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that Lt Governor Manoj Sinha should apologise for the Hyderpora encounter, in which three civilians were killed.
Leading a protest march towards Raj Bhavan in Srinagar, she said that the LG should apologise to the families of Altaf Bhat, Mudasir Gul and Aamir Magray, and the unified command should apologise to the people of Kashmir for this injustice.
“The label of OGW and hybrid militant should be removed from the names of Mudasir and Aamir. The culprits behind the killings of these civilians should be put behind bars and should be given strict punishment,” she said.
She also said that the families should be provided with compensation and a judicial probe should be carried out as the families have alleged that the civilians were used as human shields by the government forces.
“The security forces were not sure about the presence of militants in the building and till now nobody knows whether any militant was killed in that encounter or not,” she said.
She also said that the body of third civilian who has been labelled as “hybrid militant” should be returned to his family.
“The family of Aamir has been urging the authorities to return his body. It is our demand also to return his body and provide compensation to his bereaved family,” she said.
Mehbooba also said that everyone in Kashmir has been deprived of their basic human rights.
“By abrogating Article 370, the government has ruined the credibility of the Constitution of India. Every act is done unconstitutionally by the government across the nation. The agenda of RSS and BJP is to suppress the minorities of the country especially in Jammu and Kashmir as we are a Muslim-majority state. Atrocities are being committed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir just because we are Muslims,” she said.
She said that nobody has a right to talk in Kashmir and everyday journalists are being questioned, detained, and harassed.
“The media is the fourth pillar of democracy but in Kashmir it has been silenced at gunpoint. Leading newspapers are being asked to vacate their offices because the authorities don’t want them to report the truth. They want them to work the same way as Godi media,” she said.
She also said that the people of Kashmir had chosen India based on its democratic principles and secularism, but they had never imagined that they would have to beg before this country for the bodies of their loved ones.
“The police had claimed that four people were killed in the Hyderpora encounter. Where is the body of the militant then? Nothing is yet known about the militant. They have just killed three innocent civilians, leaving the entire valley in a state of pain and despair,” Mehbooba said.

Reader correspondent