Srinagar: PDP leader Iltija Mufti on Friday visited the residence of Rashid Ahmad Mughal who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Ganderbal, and said her party would support any agitation by the people seeking the return of his body.
“Mughal was killed in broad daylight by the Army. He was an honest man and was a worker of the PDP. He left home in a kameez-shalwar and when his body was recovered, he was wearing a trouser and shirt, with arms planted on him,” Iltija alleged while speaking to reporters.
The Army had claimed that a man it killed in an encounter in the Arhama forests on March 31 was a terrorist.
However, the family of Mughal refuted the official claim that he had terror links. They alleged that the encounter was fake and have demanded the return of his body for proper burial.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has instituted a magisterial inquiry into the allegation, and the report is expected to be submitted within a week.
PDP leader Iltija visited Mughal’s residence in Choontwaliwar in the central Kashmir district of Ganderbal.
Iltija said she was grateful to the LG for ordering an inquiry into the incident but after interacting with the family, she has come to the conclusion that Mughal was an “innocent civilian who was killed by Army and evidence was planted on his body”.
“Kashmir is the only state in India where an innocent is killed and then an excuse is given that he was a militant,” she said.
Seeking the return of Mughal’s body, Iltija said people are saying that if Mughal’s body is not returned within a week, they will come out on the streets to agitate.
“The family seeks the body and I want to assure the people here that if they come out on roads seeking the body, we will stand with them shoulder to shoulder,” she added. The PDP, she said, wants justice for the family.
“Let the Army face the law as law is applicable for everyone, including the Army. You cannot exploit the AFSPA. The armyman who killed Mughal for a prize money should be brought before the public. Take him to the court, we want justice. It is shameful for the Army if they kill an innocent just for prize money,” she asserted.
