J&K: Bodies of 2 civilians killed in Hyderpora encounter exhumed, given to families

Jammu and Kashmir authorities on Thursday exhumed bodies of Mohammad Altaf Bhat and Mudasir Gul, two civilians killed in the Hyderpora encounter, and handed them over to their families.

The bodies were exhumed after sundown and were handed over to their families later in the night, who performed their last rites.

This is the first time that the body of a person buried under police watch is returned to his kin since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.

Mohammad Altaf Bhat and dental surgeon Mudasir Gul were among the four people who died during an anti-terror operation at a commercial complex in Srinagar's Hyderpora on Monday.

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While forces claimed that that those killed included two terrorists and two terror supporters, the families of two civilians called it a "cold blooded murder".

The family members of Bhat and Gul sat on a 12-hour-long dharna on Wednesday demanding their bodies before being forcibly removed by the police at midnight.

The controversial killings have led to a massive outrage in the Valley and the J&K administration has ordered a magisterial probe in the encounter.

J&K governor Manoj Sinha had on Thursday said that the administration will ensure there is no injustice.