People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, on Sunday led a protest march from her residence in Srinagar to the Raj Bhavan demanding that Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha should apologize for the Hyderpora encounter in which three civilians were killed on Monday evening.
Her supporters raised slogans demanding “an end to the bloodshed of innocents” in the Kashmir valley.
Mehbooba said the LG should apologize to the families of Altaf Bhat, Mudasir Gul, and Aamir Magray.
Mehbooba demanded the return of the body of the third civilian and punishment to culprits behind Hyderpora killings. So far, the police have exhumed and handed over two bodies of ‘civilians’ to their families for burial in Srinagar.
“The label of OGW and hybrid terrorist should be removed from the names of Mudasir and Aamir. The culprits behind the killings of these civilians should be put behind bars and given strict punishment,” she said.
She also demanded compensation for the civilians killed in the encounter.
Rejecting the magisterial enquiry into the encounter ordered by the LG, Mehbooba demanded a judicial probe and pointed out that families of killed civilians have alleged that they were used as human shields by the forces.
Four persons, three ‘civilians’ and a Pakistani terrorist were killed in a joint operation of the Army and the police in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area.
She also said that the body of the third civilian who has been dubbed as “hybrid terrorist” should be returned to his family. “The family of Aamir has been urging the authorities to return his body.
Mehbooba alleged that people in Kashmir have been deprived of their basic human rights.