SRINAGAR: MLAs of governing National Conference and Congress raised the Ganderbal encounter in J&K Assembly on Saturday, demanding that the body of the local man killed in the operation be handed over to his family for a “dignified burial”.LG Manoj Sinha had on Friday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the encounter after the family of the slain person, Rashid Ahmad Mughal, disputed the Army’s statement related to the encounter, which said an unidentified terrorist had been killed in the operation in the Arahama area on the night of March 31. Rashid’s brother Ajaz Ahmad Mughal termed it a fake encounter and lodged a police complaint seeking a probe.Raising the issue, NC member and retired high court judge Hasnain Masoodi said: “The right to a decent burial is a constitutionally recognised right. Under Article 21, the family has the right to perform the last rites. Even as the inquiry proceeds, the body should be returned to the family.”Congress legislator from Bandipora, Nizamuddin Bhat, sought a judicial inquiry, saying an administrative probe was not sufficient. “The first right of the victim is a decent burial and it should be respected,” he said.Another NC legislator, Mubarak Gul, said the Assembly should condemn the incident. “In the first place, this should not have happened. Now that it has, the House should express concern,” he said. Mir Saifullah, NC legislator from Kupwara, demanded a govt statement on the incident.Since 2019, authorities have buried terrorists killed in encounters in designated graveyards in north Kashmir, including Kupwara and Uri, instead of returning the bodies to families, citing concerns over large funeral gatherings.
