Bodies of Civilians Killed in Hyderpora Encounter Exhumed, To Be Returned to Kin

Srinagar: Family members of Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr Mudasir Gul shout slogans and hold placards during a protest demanding a probe and return of the dead bodies, in Srinagar, Wednesday, 17 November.

(Photo: PTI/S Irfan)

Bodies of Mohammad Altaf Bhat and Mudasir Gul, killed in Hyderpora encounter on Monday, 15 November, have been exhumed, reported news agency PTI, citing officials.

The officials have also said that the bodies will be handed over to the families of the deceased.

Earlier in the day, demanding the return of bodies of the two civilians, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah had staged a sit-in protest at Gupkar near his home in Srinagar.

Taking to Twitter, the official account of JKNC wrote that the protest was “called off” after the family of the slayed civilians “informed him (Abdullah) that the authorities have assured the return of dead bodies.”

BACKGROUND

Four persons, including two civilians and two militants, were killed by the police and the security forces in an encounter in Srinagar's Hyderpora on Monday, 15 November.

The kin of the deceased civilians had repeatedly asserted their innocence.

A video of Altaf Bhat’s daughter weeping and mourning her father recently did the rounds of the internet. In the video, she can be seen asking:

"How will I explain it to my brother? He is much younger than I am. He doesn't know anything. He is so attached to his father and so am I."