CM Omar seeks probe in Ganderbal ‘encounter’ after family disputes ‘terrorist’ claim

SRINAGAR: J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday sought a “transparent and time-bound probe” after a family from his constituency, Ganderbal, claimed that a person killed in an alleged encounter by the Army on March 31 had no links with terrorism, and lodged a police complaint seeking an FIR and investigation.

Omar said the family’s claim should not be dismissed. “At the very least, this encounter needs a transparent & time-bound (sic.) 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,” he wrote on X.




On Wednesday morning, the Army had said one terrorist was eliminated during a joint operation with J&K Police in the Arahama area of Ganderbal the previous night. However, Ajaz Ahmad Mughal, the brother of the deceased Rashid Ahmad Mughal (28), claimed he had no involvement in terror activities.

Ajaz said his brother left home on the morning of March 31 and did not return. On April 1, around 10 am, the SHO of the Lar police station informed him that his brother had met with an accident, and brought him to the police control room in Srinagar, where he was asked to identify the body.

Ajaz claimed police informed him that the body was of a foreign terrorist. “I told them he is my brother,” he said, adding that bullets had damaged his brother’s skull.

After identifying his brother, Ajaz said he was asked by police to accompany him to Kupwara in north Kashmir, where he was buried in a graveyard. Since 2019, the bodies of local terrorists killed in encounters are not handed to the families, and are buried away in Kupwara and Uri to prevent mass gatherings.

Ajaz said everyone in the village of Chountwaliewar and the Ganderbal district knew his brother and could substantiate that he was not involved in terrorism, but helped people get Aadhaar and domicile certificates. “He was preparing for recruitment in the Army,” Ajaz said.

Police have not issued any statement on the operation. Srinagar-based defence PRO refused to comment on the family’s allegations and said police would check the background of the slain person, and details would emerge in a few days.

Srinagar-Ganderbal MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi called the allegations grave, saying that “silence from J&K Police is unacceptable”.

Former CM Mehbooba Mufti, too, alleged that it was a fake encounter. “He was an orphan and was running an NGO,” she said while speaking to media persons.
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