The father of one of the four people killed in a gunfight in Srinagar’s Hydepora area last month filed a plea in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday, reported PTI. Amir Magray’s father sought the return of his son’s body, who he maintained was innocent.
“The petitioner [Muhammad Latief Magray] and his wife request the court to come to the rescue of their son’s fundamental right to have decent burial as per religious rules,” the petition said, according to The Hindu. “They [the authorities] have not even given a chance to see his face last time. They wish to bury their son close to their house so that in the future he gets to visit his grave for prayers.”
Four people were killed in an operation carried out by security forces at a commercial complex in Hyderpora on November 15. They were a Pakistani militant identified by the police as Haider, hardware shop owner Mohammad Altaf Bhat, dentist-turned-entrepreneur Mudasir Gul and Amir Ahmed Magray, who worked in Gul’s office.
After the operation, their bodies were not handed over to their families. On November 16, they were buried in a graveyard in north Kashmir, far from Srinagar.
The police had claimed that Amir Magray was also a militant, and Bhat and Gul were “terror associates”. They later amended their statement to say Bhat was merely the building owner, but Gul had facilitated the escape of a militant. The families of all three have rejected the police’s claims that they were involved in militancy, alleging that their deaths were “cold-blooded murder”.
The plea filed on Thursday followed two days after after a Special Investigation Team set up by the Jammu and Kashmir Police to look into the incident apparently absolved security forces of any wrongdoing.
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Amir Magray’s father’s petition said that his whole family was associated with the Indian Army and other security agencies and was “instrumental in elimination of militants in Gool, Sangaldan, Ramban [towns]”. The plea also noted that the family had been provided security cover because of their association with the Army as they were under the threat of militant attack.
“It is obvious that Amir was groomed in an atmosphere of patriotism and away from anti-national activities and forces,” the petition read, according to The Hindu. “So, associating Amir with terrorism is not justified to any stretch of imagination and will also discourage all those who hold India close to their hearts and are fighting terrorism in a difficult situation in Jammu and Kashmir, without caring for their lives and families.”
In the petition, Amir Magray’s father has invoked Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which mandates that no person should be deprived of his life or personal liberty, to get back his son’s body, reported The New Indian Express.
Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have criticised the Special Investigation Team’s findings in the case with the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration calling for a judicial inquiry in the case.
National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Thursday described the police’s report as wrong and asked for a judicial investigation. “[The] police have done it to save themselves,” he said, according to PTI. “Police had killed them and there is no doubt about it.”
Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the police was trying to bully the political parties “into silence by ‘penal action’”. “The administration’s aversion and discomfort with truth coming to the fore is well-known,” she said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday had warned the residents and politicians for making “speculative statements” about the investigation into the gunfight.
The officers had said that they had come across several posts by political leaders and family members, expressing doubt about the evidence collected during the investigation.
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