Express News Service
SRI NAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday ruled out the possibility of handing over bodies of the three youth killed in the December 30 encounter at Lawaypora to their families.
The police maintained that the trio was involved in militancy, and the evidence establishing their role would be shared with the families.
Talking to reporters, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the three youth killed in Lawypora encounter on the outskirts of Srinagar were involved in militancy.
Security forces had killed Athar Mushtaq (16), Aijaz Ahmad Ganai, and Zubair Ahmad Lone during a two-day gunfight on December 30. However, their families decried the security forces’ claims.
“We have evidence that they were involved in militancy. They were providing logistic support to militants. We have collected 60 per cent evidence so far. Once 100 per cent evidence is collected, we will share it with their families. We will try to show them about how and where their wards were involved,” Kumar said.Taling on the demand of the families that bodies of the youth should be handed over to them for proper burial, IGP said, “There is no question of handing over bodies to the families.”
“The burial took place in front of the family members. The parents, family members, police, and magistrate were present,” he said. The bodies were buried in a graveyard in Sonamarg in central Kashmir. After the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in March last year, police have not been handing over bodies of local militants to their families.
Stating that the Covid problem is still persisting in the region, the IGP said, “We all know that in case of a civilian death, certain protocol is followed at their burial. If we give bodies of killed militants to their families, people may turn emotional and participate in thousands, and violate the protocol.
It will become difficult to stop them and we will have to use force,” he said. “For the larger interest, we are not handing over bodies of militants to their families,” added the IGP.
Have evidence of youth’s militancy link, says top cop
“We have evidence that they were involved in militancy. They were providing logistic support to militants. Once 100 per cent evidence is collected, we will share it with their families,” the IGP said
