Srinagar: The killing of a 29-year-old man in an alleged encounter with the Army in Ganderbal has led to concern in several quarters, including from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who asked for a transparent and time-bound probe.
A day after the Army claimed to have killed a “local terrorist” during an overnight operation in Arahama village on the outskirts of Srinagar, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also backed the chief minister’s scepticism on the official narrative.
The family of the killed man, Rashid Ahmed Mughal, claimed he was innocent and demanded an FIR as well as an inquiry. His brother told journalists that Rashid was a computer operator and had nothing to do with militancy, something the entire village would testify to.
“I believe the claim of the family should not be dismissed out of hand. At the very least this encounter needs a transparent and time bound probe with the facts made public,” Abdullah said in a post on X.
“Any attempt to obfuscate or delay the announcement of a probe will only damage credibility & that is not in anyone’s interest,” he added.
His party colleague and Lok Sabha member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi joined him in asking for a time-bound and independent probe.
“The family of Rashid Ahmad Mughal, killed in the Ganderbal encounter, says he was an innocent civilian with zero links to militancy. His own clothes were changed. The Army refuses to reveal his identity,” the Srinagar MP said on X.
He said the allegations levelled by the family were “gravely serious” and the police’s silence is “unacceptable”.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti echoed him, alleging that there were inconsistencies in the official narrative of the Army.
“The Army first said he was a foreign militant, then they said he was a local linked to militancy,” she said. She quoted reports saying Mughal was actually an orphan who ran an NGO.
Mufti also hit out at the administration for the burial process. “Even his body was not handed over to the family… He was buried in Baramulla. This is what is happening with our youth,” the PDP leader said.
According to reports, Rashid’s family said he ran an establishment to help local villagers in filling up forms for bank loans and various government schemes.
The allegations surfaced on a day the Lieutenant Governor’s administration, in a major police reshuffle, transferred 82 officials, including the Ganderbal Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khalil Ahmad Poswal.
Poswal, who retires on April 30, has been moved to the 12th India Reserve Battalion as commandant. Sudhanshu Dhama, a 2016-batch IPS officer, is the new SSP of Ganderbal.
