Srinagar: The political leaders cutting across party lines in Jammu and Kashmir have demanded a judicial probe into the Hyderpora gunfight that occurred on Monday evening.
Four persons including a Pakistani militant and his local associate were killed in a gunfight in Hyderpora locality of Srinagar.
The dead also included the house owner and a doctor, whom Police termed “terror associates”.
However, their family members denied the Police charge.
National Conference (NC) demanded an impartial and time-bound probe into the incident.
“NC Members of Parliament Farooq Abdullah, Muhammad Akbar Lone, and Hasnain Masoodi demand an impartial and time-bound probe into the Hyderpora civilian killings. The demands of bereaved families should be heard and respected,” an NC spokesman said in a statement.
Meanwhile, NC Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah also demanded an impartial and credible inquiry.
“An impartial and credible inquiry into the recent gunfight in Hyderpora is an absolute necessity. There are far too many questions being raised about the encounter and the people killed,” Abdullah tweeted. “There have been numerous instances of fake encounters in the past and the questions raised about this Hyderpora encounter need to be answered swiftly and in a credible manner.”
Expressing shock, NC Provincial President, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani also demanded an impartial and time-bound probe into the civilian killings at Hyderpora.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti also demanded a judicial inquiry into the gunfight.
“Using innocent civilians as human shields, getting them killed in cross-firing, and then conveniently labelling them as OGWs is part of GOI’s rulebook now. Imperative that a credible judicial inquiry is done to bring out the truth and put an end to this rampant culture of impunity,” Mehbooba tweeted.
Peoples Conference (PC) President Sajad Gani Lone said that there was a need to find out a transparent description of what happened in the Hyderpora encounter by a neutral institution.
“Amid conflicting claims in the Hyderpora encounter, the least we deserve is a transparent description of what happened by a neutral institution. This is neither the first time nor the last time. @manojsinha_ U have the opportunity to assert that human lives matter (sic),” Lone wrote on microblogging website Twitter.
Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu requested Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to order a probe into the killing of two men in a gunfight at Hyderpora.
“Grave and serious allegations emerging from the Hyderpora encounter. Request Hon’ble LG @manojsinha_ Sahab to order an impartial and time-bound probe to ascertain the truth. Hope the truth prevails. The families of the two civilians should be heard and heard dispassionately (sic),” Mattu tweeted.
CPI (M) leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami urged the authorities to hand over the bodies of the slain men to their families for proper burial.
“Allegedly using slain unarmed civilians as human shields is shocking and must be probed through the judicial process. The circumstances in which these killings happened need to be thoroughly probed,” Tarigami said in a statement.
“The rule of the law is being violated with impunity in Kashmir which is highly unfortunate. From arbitrary arrests of people, including youth to booking them under draconian laws and now allegations of using civilians as human shields, the situation is turning from bad to worse,” Tarigami said.
Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) Chairman Hakeem Yaseen also urged LG Manoj Sinha-led administration to probe into the gunfight.
In a statement, Hakeem Yaseen demanded a probe by a sitting High Court (HC) judge.
“There should be an impartial investigation into the killings of the slain civilians as both the families have rejected the claims of Police,” Yaseen said.
Awami National Conference (ANC) Vice President Muzaffar Shah also demanded an impartial probe into the Hyderpora gunfight and said that entire Kashmir had been feeling for the innocent men who were the sole bread earners of their families, feeding little kids.