The Jammu and Kashmir Police removed family members of two people killed on Monday from Srinagar’s Press Enclave at midnight as they were staging a sit-in demanding the return of the bodies of their slain kin.
The bodies of Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Mudasir Gul were buried over 70 km away in Handwara without the presence of their families after police claimed they were killed in crossfire during a gun battle. Police branded the two as “overground workers” for harbouring terrorists even as their families have contested it and said they were killed.
Bhat and Gul’s families began the sit-in on Wednesday. National Conference leaders joined them while former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was prevented from going to the protest site.
The videos of the police removing the protesters went viral on social media and provoked fresh outrage. In a tweet, Mufti said instead of handing over the remains of the innocent civilians, police “arrested” the family members for demanding the bodies of their loved ones. “Unbelievably ruthless & insensitive. Least they can do is return the mortal remains immediately,” said Mufti. She posted a video showing masked policemen forcibly dragging relatives of the two civilians into bulletproof vehicles.
Former minister Sajad Lone called the police action inhuman.“What on earth Has happened to the administration. Y can’t they present a human face. Y r they so intent on presenting a v inhuman and ugly face,” Lone tweeted. He also posted a video of the police action.
Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu expressed solidarity with the families and said the truth shall prevail. “My heart goes out to the families out in sub-zero temperature seeking the still, lifeless dead bodies of their loved ones. The least the Administration can do is to return the mortal remains of the dead civilians to their families.”
Police said the protestors were only removed and not detained. “They are all now at their homes,” said Inspector general (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar.
Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah spoke to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday and sought the return of the bodies. “(Abdullah) reiterated his demand for an impartial probe into the civilian killings,” said Imran Nabi Dar, a spokesperson for Abdullah’s party.
Omar Abdullah, another former chief minister, blamed police for putting the two civilians in harm’s way and demanded the return of their bodies. “The police admit they took the building owner (Bhat) & the tenant (Gul) into the building (gunbattle scene) & used them to knock on doors. How then can these people be termed as militants? They are civilians who died because they were put in harm’s way, “ he said in a tweet. He called taking the bodies away from their families a crime against humanity.
“To vilify them as militants or OGWs (overground workers) is bad enough but to take the bodies away & forcibly bury them in North Kashmir is a crime against humanity. The bodies must be returned to the families so they can be buried. It’s the only just thing & it’s the only humanitarian thing to do.”