Omar terms detention of relatives of 2 killed in Hyderpora encounter as 'outrageous'

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said it was 'outrageous' that the J&K administration did now allow the relatives of those killed in the Hyderpora encounter to conduct a peaceful protest.

In a series of tweets, Omar said that the J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha should reach out to the families and give them the bodies of their kins killed in the gunfight on Monday.

"This is the naya Kashmir of 2021. This is how the J&K police fulfils @PMOIndia promise to remove "dil ki doori & Dilli se doori. It's outrageous that the J&K administration did not allow the families to conduct a peaceful sit in protest," Omar tweeted.

"I've rarely seen families who have been wronged conduct themselves with such dignity. They have been reasonable in their demands & dignified in their conduct. The result of this is visible for all to see as the police drags them away in the dead of night."

"LG @manojsinha_ should reach out to these families, hear them in person & then give them the bodies of their loved ones. It's the only right thing to do, it's the only humane thing to do."

On Wednesday night the protesting family members of Mudassir Gul and Altaf Ahmad, who were killed in the encounter, were evicted and detained by the police.

The families insist that Altaf Ahmad and Mudassir Gul had no involvement in militancy and demanded that their bodies be returned to them.

Police said four persons were killed in the encounter at Hyderpora, including a foreign militant identified as Haider and his accomplice.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar on Tuesday said in a press conference that an Overground Worker of the militants Mudassir Gul and the house owner Altaf Ahmad were killed during the gunfight. He said that the house owner was killed in the crossfire while Gul, living on rent in the building, had provided shelter to Haider and his associate.