J-K govt orders magisterial probe into controversial Hyderpora encounter

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the controversial encounter in Hyderpora earlier this week.

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said suitable action will be taken as soon as a report is submitted in a time-bound manner. He also spoke about the government’s commitment to protecting the lives of civilians and ensuring there was no injustice.

“A magisterial inquiry by an officer of ADM rank has been ordered in the Hyderpora encounter. The government will take suitable action as soon as a report is submitted in a time-bound manner. The Jammu and Kashmir administration reiterates its commitment of protecting lives of innocent civilians and it will ensure there is no injustice,” Sinha said on Thursday.

On Monday, a Pakistani terrorist, his associate Aamir Magray and two civilians – Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Mudasir Gul – were killed in the encounter in the Hyderpora area of Srinagar.

While Bhat was the owner of the shopping complex where the encounter happened, Gul was one of the building’s tenants.

Families of Bhat, Gul and Magray have claimed the deceased people were innocent and demanded their bodies be returned. On Wednesday, protests were held at several places across the valley demanding an inquiry into their deaths.

However, the J-K police maintained that Gul was an active associate of militants and was running the call centre on the premises owned by Altaf.

Inspector general of police (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar said on Tuesday that Bhat was killed in cross-firing with the terrorists. However, even as expressed regret over his death, Kumar added that Bhat would be counted among the “harbourers” of militants.

Meanwhile, as the protests intensified on Wednesday, National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah had a telephonic conversation with Sinha and had apprised him of the situation.

“I informed the LG about the contradictory statements made by the police. On Monday, they are civilians trapped in crossfire and Tuesday they are harbourers of terror. If they had so much of the so-called inputs about the deceased on Tuesday, they could have shared on Monday. This is a cooked-up story and needs to be probed,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on Wednesday.