Hyderpora Gunfight: Former J&K CMs, ex-legislators, Cong, Hakeem demand time-bound probe

Srinagar: The former chief ministers of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State, ex-legislators , Congress party and PDF Chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen Tuesday reacted to the gunfight in Srinagar outskirts, seeking judicial probe to ascertain the facts about the civilian killings.
National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah said that several instances of fake encounters have taken place in the past and the questions being raised about Hyderpora encounter need to be answered swiftly.
“An impartial & credible inquiry in to the recent encounter in #Hyderpora is an absolute necessity. There are far too many questions being raised about the encounter & about the people killed,” Omar tweeted.
“There have been numerous instances of fake encounters in the past and the questions raised about this #hyderporaencounter need to be answered swiftly & in a credible manner,” he tweeted.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti in a tweet killing innocent civilians in cross firing & then conveniently labelling them as OGWs is part of Government of India’s rulebook now.
“Using innocent civilians as human shields, getting them killed in cross firing & then conveniently labelling them as OGWs is part of GOIs rulebook now. Imperative that a credible judicial enquiry is done to bring out the truth & put an end to this rampant culture of impunity,” Mehbooba tweeted.
Former minister and Peoples Conference (PC) Chairman Sajad Gani Lone in a tweet said that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has the opportunity to assert that human lives matter.“In the midst of conflicting claims in the Hyderpora encounter the least we deserve is a transparent description of what happened by a neutral institution. This is neither the first time nor the last time. @manojsinha_ U have the opportunity to assert that human lives matter,” Lone tweeted.
Former Kulgam legislator Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami also demanded judicial probe into the killings and urged the administration to handover bodies of civilians to their families for the last rites.
“We demand a judicial probe into the civilian killings of Hyderpora and urge the administration to immediately handover their bodies to respective families for last rites,” Tarigami tweeted.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) also demanded a judicial probe into the killings of civilians in the Hyderpora encounter.
In a statement, JKPCC Spokesperson sought a time bound judicial probe into the killings of Altaf Ahmad and Mudasir Gul in the Hyderpora encounter.
The circumstances in which these killings happened need to be probed in a time bound manner, as the family of the house owner has also claimed that he was used as human shield during the encounter, Spokesperson added
Chairman Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Front (J&KPDF) and former Minister Hakeem Mohammed Yaseen also urged LG Manoj Sinha led administration to probe into the killing of two civilians killed in Hyderpora encounter.
In a statement, Hakeem said it is unfortunate that such incidents occur in the Valley and stated that how many times Kashmiri people would count the dead bodies of their dear ones.He demanded a probe by a sitting High Court judge in Hyderpora encounter. “There should be an impartial investigation into the killings of slain civilians and as both, the families have rejected the claims of Police,” the senior leader said.
Hakeem urged LG Manoj Sinha to probe the killings and there should be an independent inquiry into this case,” he said.
The senior leader said such incidents have been repeatedly reported in Kashmir. Security agencies should also cooperate with the investigation and so that it will clear their image in the public sphere, he said.
Hakeem said there should be an “independent and impartial” investigation into the killing of two civilians in Hyderpora and those responsible for it should be brought to justice.
“Safety of the civilian population should be of paramount importance and as every human life is important and precious,” he added.