The counter terrorist operation conducted by the joint team of security forces at Hyderpora bypass in which one foreign terrorist was neutralised along with his local associate from Ramban late Monday evening has come under the scanner.
The family members of two local businessmen, also killed during the operation, Tuesday leveled serious allegations claiming the security forces killed their loved ones in cold blood and used one of the slain businessmen as a
'human shield' during the operation.
The family members also demanded their dead bodies but the local police authorities refused to hand over the same fearing law and order problem in the area. The final burial was organised by the police in the wee hours in a graveyard located in Handwara.
Rebutting these allegations, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range Vijay Kumar in a press conference on Tuesday claimed one of the businessmen identified as Altaf Ahmad Bhat was killed in the crossfire while another doctor turned builder, identified as Mudasir Gull, working as an Over Ground Worker and harbouring terrorists in the area, succumbed to his bullet injuries after the encounter.
Reacting to the Hyderpora encounter, GOC 15 Corps Lieutenant General D P Pandey Tuesday said that Dr Mudasir, killed in the operation, was operating a fake unauthorised call centre. He further said that the security forces would not allow white-collar terrorism to prevail in J&K. "People must identify and question such elements which act behind to recruit and fund terrorism,he asserted.
Vijay Kumar also claimed “It is not sure whether the owner of a commercial complex Altaf Bhat, was hit by the terrorists’ or the security forces’ bullet. Terrorists were carrying pistols. The cause of the death would be clear after investigation. Referring to activities of Mudasir Kumar said he may have provided shelter to a foreign terrorist identified as Haider and his associates in the commercial complex. "He was harbouring and ferrying terrorists. Mudasir was also involved in ferrying Haider from the site of the attack at Jamalata Srinagar, where a policeman was injured after a bullet hit him in the neck. He was an overground worker and was directly involved in harbouring terrorists", Kumar added.
Following these allegations several Kashmir based political parties, including the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), CPI(M) and the Peoples Conference, demanded an independent judicial probe into the incident.
“Using innocent civilians as human shields, getting them killed in cross-firing and then conveniently labelling them as OGWs is part of the Government of India’s rulebook now. Imperative that a credible judicial enquiry is done to bring out the truth & put an end to this rampant culture of impunity,” former Chief Minister and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti
tweeted. Former Chief Minister and NC leader Omar Abdullah demanded “an impartial and credible inquiry”. “There are far too many questions being raised about the encounter and about the people killed. There have been numerous instances of fake encounters in the past and the questions raised about this encounter need to be answered swiftly and in a credible manner,” he
remarked.
Police also constituted a special investigation team (SIT), headed by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police. Kumar said, "SIT would probe the modus operandi of the hi-tech hideout at Hyderpora. “It will investigate the sequence of events and if the mobile phones and computers recovered from the encounter site had links with foreign countries, including the US".
Two pistols, two magazines, half a dozen mobile phones and a few computers were recovered at the encounter site, the police claimed.