J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday demanded a probe into the Ganderbal encounter, where the Army claimed to have killed a local terrorist in an overnight operation on April 31-March 1.
“I believe the claim of the family should not be dismissed out of hand. At the very least this encounter needs a transparent and time bound probe with the facts made public. Any attempt to obfuscate or delay the announcement of a probe will only damage credibility & that is not in anyone’s interest,” said Mr. Abdullah.
The Chief Minister made the statement after the family of the slain, identified as Arsheed Mugal Bakerwal, son of Gul-Zaman Bakerwal, a resident of Chuntwaliwar, Ganderbal, claimed “there were no militant links of the slain youth”. The deceased is a 28-year-old post-graduate and lived with his family in the area, the family claimed. Meanwhile, the family reportedly lodged a complaint with the police. However, the police have neither denied nor confirmed receiving any complaint from the family.
The body was disallowed to be buried at the family’s graveyard and instead was buried at graveyard Wadder Payeen, Zachaldara, in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, at a spot earmarked by the security agencies to bury the militants killed in the encounters in the Valley.
