Srinagar, July 24: A family from Barzulla area whose son was killed in an encounter with government forces last month in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district today again hit streets to protest ‘disinclination’ of police to handover his body for last rites.
The protesting family members including slain militants ailing old aged mother and sisters besides other relatives and neighbors sat on a dharna at Barzulla Bridge against what they termed rigidity of police to return dead body of son to his family.
Chanting slogans “return body of Mudasir and do justice with his aged parents” the protesters who halted traffic movement on busy Barzulla Bridge for around an hour demanded mortal remains of Mudasir.
Protesters alleged that the police despite clear-cut directions from high-ups and completion of all legal formalities mandatory for exhumation have been causing undue delay in handing over the body to his family for performing his last rites.
Pertinently Mudasir Ahmad Bhat Bhat, according to his family members, was killed in gunfight in Kupwara on June 30, although army had claimed to have killed an unidentified militant in a gunfight at Tunga top forests of Kachama Handwara.
“We have been insisting police to exhume the body of my brother and hand it over to his family for burial. Despite taking samples for DNA test, police has been reluctant to return the body,” said Quosar Jabeen sister of slain militant.
She claimed that all the necessary formalities mandatory for exhumation of body including DNA sampling and identification is completed but police denies the body to them.
