Tag: Altaf Ahmad Bhat

‘Want to Bring Him Home’: HC Allows Family of Man Killed in Hyderpora Encounter to Exhume Body

Mohammad Lateef Magray, father of the deceased Aamir, had approached the high court in December 2021, seeking the mortal remains of his son.

Srinagar: More than six months after a controversial encounter in Srinagar left four persons dead, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court on Friday, May 27, allowed the family of the third slain man to exhume his body to perform last rites.

Citing extensively from the verdicts of the Supreme Court that the “right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not only available to a living man but also to his body after his death,” the court allowed the family of Aamir Lateef Magray to exhume his body.

“The parents and close relations of the deceased are well within their right to demand the dead body of their dear one to be cremated or buried as per their traditions, religious obligations and religious belief. This right would also include the choice of the relatives to have the dead body cremated or buried at his native place,” the court ruled.

Mohammad Lateef Magray, father of Aamir, had approached the high court in December 30 last year, seeking the mortal remains of his son. In his petition, filed by advocate Deepika Singh Rajawat, Lateef told the court that he had approached “all authorities for handing over the body of his deceased son but nobody listened to him.”

“We are happy with the verdict,” Lateef, Aamir’s father, told The Wire over phone from his residence in Jammu’s Ramban district. “We don’t need any compensation. We only want to bring his body home. My son will not return from the dead but at least his grave will be in front of our eyes so we can offer prayers for him there.”

Amir Magray’s father Mohammad Lateef Magray outside his mud house in Thatharka Seripora village, about 40 kms from Ramban district. Amir was one of the four killed by security forces in Hyderpora, Jammu and Kashmir on November 14, 2021. Photo: Adil Abbas

Aamir, who was making a living by doing menial jobs in Srinagar, was among four persons – including a suspected Pakistani terrorist identified by J&K Police as Haider alias Bilal Bhai – who were gunned down in Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar by security forces on November 15 last year.

Security forces had claimed that Aamir was an active terrorist while the other two slain persons – Mohammad Altaf Bhat, the owner of the building where the shootout took place, and Dr Mudasir Gul who had taken up a portion of the building on rent for his call centre and land brokerage firm – were associates of terrorists.

The J&K Police told the court that a Special Investigations Team which probed the encounter “firmly established” the involvement of the three persons in terrorist activities. However, the families of the three men have denied the claims.

After the encounter, the bodies of all the four persons were buried overnight on November 15 in a remote village in Handwara, some 90 kilometres from Srinagar, even though eyewitness accounts, reported by The Wire, had disputed some of the claims of security forces about the sequence of events that led to the encounter.

Also read: J&K Police Affidavit Shows Army Made Contradictory Claim on Hyderpora ‘Gunfight’ Intelligence

Following intense protests in Kashmir which saw a rare coming together of the civil society, activists and mainstream political parties, the bodies of Altaf and Gul were exhumed on November 18, 2021, and returned to their families.

‘Arbitrarily turned down’

In its ruling, the high court observed that the J&K Police “have not come clear as to why the dead bodies of two of the four killed in the encounter” were exhumed and handed over to their relatives and “why the similar right claimed by the petitioner was denied.”

The J&K Police had told the court that the bodies of Altaf and Gul were handed back to their families because they were only associates of terrorists.  “I do not find any logic or sense in distinction so made by the respondents,” the court observed.

“Since the petitioner was a resident of Gool, a remote village in Jammu Province and did not much stay in the Valley and, therefore, his request was arbitrarily turned down. The action of the respondents is not traceable to any procedure established by law which is just, fair and equitable. At least none was brought to the notice of this Court. The decision of the respondents not to allow the petitioner to take away dead body of his son to his native village for last rites was per-se arbitrary and falls foul of Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the court ruled.

The J&K Police had objected to returning the mortal remains of Aamir to his family due to “apprehension of law and order getting vitiated” but the J&K high court observed in its order that these apprehensions “appear to be illusory.”

“When the respondents (J&K Police) could maintain the law and order situation when the dead bodies of…Altaf and Dr Mudasir were…handed over to their relatives…it is not difficult for the respondents to make necessary arrangements for exhumation of the dead body of Amir Latief Magrey,” the court observed.

Also read: After Outrage, J&K Admin Returns Bodies of Businessmen Killed in Hyderpora Shootout

Lateef, Aamir’s father, told the court that he is “ready to undertake that he will abide by all the terms and conditions that may be imposed by the respondents (J&K Police) with regard to exhumation, transportation and according of burial to the dead body.” The court told the police to “make appropriate arrangements to ensure that law and order situation does not get vitiated.”

He told the court that he has “all along remained associated with Indian Army and other security agencies and were instrumental in elimination of militants in his area.”

The court ruled that the administration can “impose any reasonable terms and conditions in respect of exhumation, transportation and burial of the dead body” to his native village. “Since the dead body of the deceased must be in advance stage of putrefaction, as such, it would be desirable that the respondents act with promptitude and do not waste any further time.”

“However, if the body is highly putrefied and is not in deliverable state or is likely to pose risk to public health and hygiene, the petitioner and his close relatives shall be allowed to perform last rites as per their tradition and religious belief in the Wadder Payeen graveyard itself.”

“In that situation, the State shall pay to the petitioner a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for deprivation of his right to have the dead body of his son and give him decent burial as per family traditions, religious obligations and faith which the deceased professed when he was alive,” the court ruled.

J&K’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had set up a Special Investigations Team to probe the controversial encounter whose findings have not been publicly revealed so far. A magisterial inquiry was also ordered to investigate the encounter.

“We don’t even know what is in the magisterial report. Our family approached the governor’s office in January for the copies of all the reports like the first FIR, autopsy and ballistic reports. I have been requesting them to give us these reports but they have not responded so far,” said Saima Bhat, niece of Altaf.

J&K Police Affidavit Shows Army Made Contradictory Claim on Hyderpora ‘Gunfight’ Intelligence

In a tweet, the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps had claimed that the joint operation was carried out on intelligence inputs of J&K Police. Police say it was the Army’s 2nd Rashtriya Rifles which gave intelligence inputs.

Srinagar: The controversy over the Hyderpora “encounter” refuses to die down, with an affidavit filed by Jammu and Kashmir police in the high court bringing to the fore the fact that the Army has made a contradictory claim on the intelligence input that led to the alleged gunfight. The veracity of security forces’ account of it has already been questioned by families of the deceased and political parties.

In a tweet posted through its official handle on November 15, 2021, Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps had claimed that the joint operation was carried out on intelligence inputs of J&K Police. 

But the police affidavit, quoting a written report filed by the Army at the Sadder police station on November 15, 2021, states that it was Army’s 2nd Rashtriya Rifles (RR) that had received “reliable information” about the presence of militants in a building in the area.

“Brief facts of the case are that on 15-11-2021 police station Sadder received a written report along with seizure memo of arms /ammunition from 2 RR Army camp Zainkote Srinagar through HC Chain Singh No. 4485515F of said unit to the effect that today at 17:15 hrs Army 2 RR received reliable information about the presence of terrorists hiding in a building, jurisdiction of P/s Sadder and have planned for attack on security forces. Upon said information, 2 RR/ Valley QRT/PC Srinagar cordoned the area and started search operation to nab the terrorists. During the search operation, terrorists hiding in the building opened indiscriminate firing upon search party which was retaliated and in the ensuing encounter two terrorists were neutralized and two associates of terrorists were also killed,” reads the affidavit, a copy of which The Wire has.

The Wire has reached out to Army authorities in Srinagar for comments on the two different claims made about generation of intelligence inputs. This report will be updated when relevant officials comment on the matter.

Also read: ‘Contradictory, Incoherent’: Kin of Men Slain in Hyderpora ‘Encounter’ Reject Probe Findings

When contacted, deputy inspector general of police, Central Kashmir, Sujit Kumar said that generation of input has nothing to do with the operation.

“The input also has nothing to do with my investigation. It hardly matters on whose input the operation was carried out,” he said.

Four persons were killed in the “gunfight” in Hyderpora area of Srinagar in November last year. All of them were buried in Wadder Payeen area of Handwara. Later, bodies of two deceased – Altaf Ahmad Bhat (owner of the building in which the shootout took place) and Dr Mudasir Gul (who was running call centre from the building) were handed over to their families for burial after exhumation. Following protests against the deaths, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir ordered a magisterial probe into the gunfight.

In the affidavit, police has also submitted that investigation carried out by its special investigation team (SIT) has proved or established that one ‘Bilal Bhai’ (also known as Hyder and Saqib), who is a resident of Pakistan, and Amir Latief Magrey of Seeripora tehsil were militants.

The police has also submitted that preliminary investigation suggests that role of Mudasir Gul cannot be ruled out, but added that that aspect is still under investigation.

It has also claimed that Mudasir was killed by the foreign terrorist.

Also read: Hyderpora ‘Encounter’: A Month On, Families Await Justice; Probe Report Not Made Public

The fourth person, Muhammad Altaf Bhat, who is the owner of the building, was killed in cross firing, the police affidavit says.

In the affidavit, police has submitted that handing over the body of Amir Magrey will send a wrong message and lead to law and order and security concerns.

“That the demand of dead body in the instant case is not demand of ordinary citizen who has been killed by the action of security forces but of the terrorist who has been killed during encounter. If by any reasoning the return of the dead body of terrorist is considered, it will send a wrong message in society and will lead to far greater consequences of law and order and security concerns. Thus at the very outset it is prayed before the Honourable Court for the larger concerns of the security, instant writ petition merits dismissal in limine,” reads the affidavit.

The affidavit further states that return of the body at this stage will jeopardise the rights of the people and create law and order problems.

“The apex court in its various verdicts has held that fundamental rights need to be balanced with other rights and in the case it is a matter of national security concern that would have adverse impact, hence need to be kept at paramount consideration,” it adds.

Police has also submitted that burial of militants away from their residences has proved result-oriented as incidents of law and order and joining of militant ranks by youth has declined as per intelligence inputs.

These submissions were made by police after the family of Amir Magrey approached J&K high court to seek his mortal remains for his burial at his native place.

‘Contradictory, Incoherent’: Kin of Men Slain in Hyderpora ‘Encounter’ Reject Probe Findings

Renewing the demand for a judicial probe, affected families and political parties of Kashmir said the police probe findings are nothing but “only a repetition of the old story”, which according to them is “concocted”.

Srinagar: Hours after the special investigations team (SIT) of the J&K Police shared preliminary findings of the probe into the controversial Hyderpora shootout on Tuesday, December 28, the families of the three local men killed rejected the “contradictory and incoherent” police findings.

The police investigation into the encounter has also run into rough weather with Kashmir-based political parties terming the inquiry as a “coverup” while renewing their demand for a judicial probe.

“It doesn’t even slightly give any objective picture of this shocking incident,” the Gupkar Alliance, an amalgam of five regional parties headed by National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, said in a statement, referring to the SIT’s findings.

Seeking a judicial probe, the statement said the police claim is “only a repetition of the old story” which “seemed to be…concocted.”

However, the SIT on Wednesday evening threatened to take criminal action against political leaders for “speculative statements” on the shootout which, it said, can lead to “provocation, rumour, fear and alarm” among people which is “against the rule of law and may attract appropriate penal provisions as envisaged under law”, the SIT said in a statement.

On November 14 evening, a suspected Pakistani militant identified by J&K Police as Bilal Bhai alias Maaz was killed along with three persons – Altaf Ahmad Bhat, owner of a building in Srinagar’s Hyderpora locality where the shootout took place, his tenant Mudasir Gul who ran a call centre in a room on the building’s first floor and Aamir Magray who worked at the centre.

A member of the security forces during an encounter with militants at Hyderpora, in Srinagar, November 15, 2021. Photo: PTI /S. Irfan.

Two days later, amid intense public anger, the J&K Police formed the SIT headed by DIG Sujith K. Singh, to probe the shootout. Following the Supreme Court guidelines, the J&K administration also ordered a magisterial inquiry which, according to the inspector general of police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar, has submitted its report to J&K’s home department which will be submitted to the court.

Sequence of events 

Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, the SIT chief said a joint team of the Army’s 2 Rashtriya Rifles, Srinagar unit of J&K Police’s elite Special Operations Group (SOG) and paramilitary troopers cordoned the building in Hyderpora locality at around 5 pm on November 14 following “information about the presence of FT (foreign terrorist) and local terrorist residing on the first floor”.

The SIT has based its findings on the statements of around two dozen witnesses – some of them protected, forensic reports, analysis of call records, CCTV footage, postmortem reports and other unspecified material, said the DIG Sujith, adding that the inquiry team was open to reviewing its findings.

After the cordon was tightened, the DIG said the building was searched twice, once by a police party led by a local SHO at around 5:29 pm and then by a joint team of the Army and SOG, but without success. The DIG played CCTV footage which suggested that Magray, a resident of Ramban who used to do odd jobs in Srinagar for a living, according to his family, tried leaving the building soon after the first search operation had begun.

“Magray was asked to show his mobile phone but he told the search party that he had left it behind in his room. We allowed him to leave because we had no photo ID on him and a local trader claimed that he (Magray) has been working at the building for some time,” the DIG said, adding that Bhat and Gul were repeatedly questioned about the presence of militants in the building but that they kept denying it.

During searches, the SIT chief said, security forces found two rooms of Bhat and Gul locked. On inquiry, it turned out that Magray was in possession of the keys. “Magray was at a nearby hospital and he was asked to return after which the building was searched again. By then we had info on him including his picture,” the DIG said.

“The three of them went into the building on their own. They were pretending as if no terrorist was hiding inside. They didn’t ask for bulletproof vests or anything,” the DIG said, playing the purported CCTV footage which showed Magray carrying a torch in his hand at around 6:25 pm after apparently leaving Gul’s room, where he used to stay.

At 6:36 pm, the purported CCTV footage shows a person running out of the frame. “This is the foreign terrorist. After taking (Bhat as) human shield, he fired at security forces while exiting and was killed some 85 feet away from the building,” the DIG said, adding that there was a bullet entry wound on the back of his head.

During the operation, the police found two bodies near the entrance of the building; Magray was lying near the gate of the building while the body of Bhat was found near the staircase. Gul’s body was recovered from the attic with the help of a camera-mounted dog. The DIG said both Magray and Gul were seen with the foreign militant. “We have CCTV footage which shows Dr Gul in a car in the company of the foreign terrorist,” he said, without mentioning the date of the footage.

“We didn’t fire a single shot inside the building. An empty cartridge was recovered from the attic which belonged to the pistol recovered from the foreign terrorist, suggesting that Gul was killed by him,” the DIG claimed, citing forensic reports.

He claimed to possess video evidence showing the foreign militant and Magray entering the building on November 14 evening, hours after a policeman was injured in a militant attack in downtown Srinagar.

“A policeman had seen him (foreign militant) closely when he carried out the attack and identified him before the magistrate after the Hyderpora encounter. A SIM recovered from the foreign terrorist also showed that he was in Jamalta and Hyderpora on the day of the attack,” he said.

Claims and counterclaims 

At the beginning of the press conference, the DIG said a cordon was laid around the building following information about the presence of two militants.

However, when asked why locals were put in the line of danger by asking them to search the building, the DIG said: “We didn’t know there were militants in the building. Had we known why would we question the building owner and traders? If the owner had told us, then we would not have sent them inside the building.”

“As per protocol, if there are suspicious elements in a building and the owner declares their presence, then we will not put him in danger. However, if the owner tries to conceal the facts, then he has to show the way. Gul offered to open his room and returned, and also offered to open Bhat’s room,” the DIG added.

Bhat’s family, however, rejected the police claims.

Speaking with The Wire, Abdul Majid Bhat, elder brother of Altaf, claimed that there were torture marks on his body. “There was a blunt injury on the back of his head, his eye and mouth were swollen and his legs were bruised? How did he suffer those injuries if he was killed in firing,” Majid said, rejecting the SIT’s claims.

Families members of Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Mudasir Gul, who were killed during an encounter at Hyderpora on November 16, shout slogans and hold placards during a protest demanding a probe and return of the dead bodies, in Srinagar, November 17, 2021. Photo: PTI/S. Irfan.

“First the police said Bhat was an associate of militants. Then they said he was killed in cross-firing. Now they are saying he was taken as a human shield. The SIT probe is hogwash. We demand a judicial inquiry which we hope will get to the truth of the matter,” Majid said.

After killing Gul, the DIG said, the foreign militant and Magray took Bhat as human shield who “took the first bullets” when the exchange of fire took place at the entrance of the building.

“There was half-eaten food in the room where the terrorist was hiding. It seems the foreign terrorist got orders that Gul might have tipped security forces and to get rid of him. He was shot while leaving the room.”

About Magray, the DIG said he had completed a degree in Islamic studies from a prominent seminary in north Kashmir’s Bandipora. He sought to raise incoherent questions about the alleged ‘misbehaviour’ of Magray while he was enrolled at the seminary.

“He was absconding since 2018 after completing his degree. Lately, he had been talking about finding a secure residential place in Bandipora which has seen a spike in infiltration. We have got some vital clues and more details will be shared,” the DIG said.

Asked why Magray didn’t escape when he was asked to return to the building, despite knowing that searches were being carried out by security forces, the DIG couldn’t provide a satisfactory answer. “It was because the person on whose assurance we allowed him to go and who is a close associate of Gul knew him well and our calculation that he would return to the building on being asked to, turned out to be right,” he said.

Rejecting the official probe, Humaira, the widow of Gul, said that she had no expectations from the SIT. “The truth was killed with the murder of my husband and the other two people. Why would a doctor stake his career, his little daughter and ageing parents for nothing? The police are speaking lies,” she said, asking the police to show them the CCTV footage which shows Gul in the company of the suspected foreign militant.

Meanwhile, the J&K Apni Party president Syed Altaf Bukhari also rejected the SIT claims. “Who is the police to give clean chit in Hyderpora incident? We reject the probe,” he said.

The Sajjad Lone-led Peoples Conference (PC) termed the SIT findings “a fig leaf to legitimise violence by the state”.

“We don’t even have a modicum of belief that the government will actually have the moral courage to own a wrong and apologise for it”, a party spokesperson said.

Srinagar Encounter: Eyewitnesses Say Civilians Were Used as ‘Human Shields’; Probe Demanded

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said it was the “responsibility of security forces to keep civilians from harm during an armed operation, not to place them in harm’s way.”

Srinagar: Human Rights Watch (HRW), the international rights advocacy group headquartered in the US, has sought a “credible and independent” probe into the allegations that a civilian was used as a human shield during a shootout in Srinagar’s Hyderpora locality.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of HRW, said it was the “responsibility of security forces to keep civilians from harm during an armed operation, not to place them in harm’s way.”

“The authorities should immediately order a transparent, credible and independent investigation into this incident,” Meenakshi told The Wire.

The killing of businessman Altaf Ahmad Bhat, father of three minor children, in a controversial shootout that left four people dead in Srinagar, has sparked allegations that he was used as a human shield by security forces.

In a conflict situation, the Geneva Conventions, to which India is a signatory, forbid the use of human shields who can be either civilians or prisoners of war. A human shield is used by any side involved in a conflict in a potentially life-threatening situation to achieve their own military objectives.

According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a French non-profit which works in conflict zones, including Kashmir, the use of civilians “to shield military objectives or operations” is a violation of international humanitarian laws.

“Such acts are clearly established as war crimes under international humanitarian law. Many categories of persons are specifically protected by humanitarian law, such as civilians, the wounded and sick, prisoners of war, and medical personnel,” the MSF notes.

Also Read: As Civilian Victims’ Families Contest Official Version, J&K Police SIT to Probe Encounter

Eyewitnesses accounts

Eyewitnesses and family members who spoke with The Wire said a search team of security forces led by the J&K police asked Altaf, owner of the shopping complex in Srinagar’s Hyderpora locality where the shootout took place, to accompany them when they started the anti-militancy operation.

A statement issued by the J&K police also admitted that Altaf was taken along by the security forces. It said the anti-militancy operation was launched along with the Army’s 2 Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF following “specific police inputs” about the “presence of terrorists” in the shopping complex.

“If security forces knew there were militants inside the building, why did they ask my brother to accompany them? They deliberately put him in harm’s way. He was used as a human shield,” Altaf’s brother, Abdul Majid Bhat, told The Wire, dismissing rumours that his brother was linked to militancy.

Majid’s claim has been corroborated by several eyewitnesses who saw the happenings at the shopping complex when the search unit started the operation on Monday at around 5:30 pm.

Two eyewitnesses who spoke with The Wire on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that when the search unit arrived, counterinsurgency forces in the civvies were already deployed in the area, “They asked the traders to down their shutters while other forces laid a cordon around the complex,” said an eyewitness.

Security forces then assembled the traders and their workers in a two-wheeler showroom housed in the shopping complex and seized their mobile phones. As the cordon was tightened, the search unit attempted their first entry into the complex.

A member of the security forces during an encounter with militants at Hyderpora, in Srinagar, November 15, 2021. Photo: PTI /S. Irfan

“Altaf was closing his shop when they (jawans) asked him to accompany them while they searched the shopping complex. He obliged without any resistance,” said the eyewitness, who didn’t want to be named for the fear of reprisal by security forces.

After some time, the eyewitnesses said, Altaf and Dr Mudasir Gul, the second civilian killed in the shootout, walked out of the complex along with the security forces. “Altaf and Mudasir were asked to remain on standby outside the showroom. Some 30 minutes later, they were again taken into the complex after which there was firing. There is CCTV footage which can prove this,” another eyewitness said.

Inspector general of police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar told reporters that Altaf and Mudasir, accompanied by security forces, knocked on the door of the room on the top floor of the shopping complex where the suspected militants were believed to be hiding, a potential violation of the Standard Operating Procedure. The Wire tried reaching the IG for his comment but he didn’t respond. This story will be updated if and when he responds.

A J&K police spokesperson said the suspected militants “started firing indiscriminately towards the party which was retaliated. However, in the initial exchange of fire, both the individuals (Altaf and Mudasir) accompanying the search party received critical gunshot injuries and succumbed to their injuries.”

‘Illegal’ says lawyer

Habeeb Iqbal, a human rights lawyer based in south Kashmir, said the statement of the J&K police suggests that Altaf was asked to accompany them when the “possibility of a gunfight was high”, which is “illegal.”

“Civilians can’t be used as human shields. This is irrespective of the fact whether the civilians are used voluntarily or involuntarily. These prohibitions are contained in the various instruments of international humanitarian law as well in the general laws,” Habeel said.

The J&K police claimed to have killed a suspected Pakistani militant and his alleged local associate, Aamir Lateef Margay, during the shootout. However, eyewitnesses claimed to have seen Aamir, a resident of Ramban’s Gool area who was working as a helper at the office of Dr Mudasir, leaving the complex when the search operation started.

“He was frisked by cops who asked him to hand over his phone. However, he told them that he was not carrying a phone and left the building,” said the second eyewitness.

Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday that the police’s admission that the two businessmen were used to “knock on doors” of the militant hideout suggests that there were not militants. “They are civilians who died because they were put in harms (sic) way,” he wrote on Twitter.

“To vilify them as militants or OGWs is bad enough but to take the bodies away & forcibly bury them in North Kashmir is a crime against humanity. The bodies must be returned to the families so they can be buried. It’s the only just thing & it’s the only humanitarian thing to do,” Omar said.

The families of Altaf and Dr Mudasir staged a protest in Srinagar’s Press Enclave on Wednesday evening, demanding that the police must return their mortal remains so that they could perform the last rites. Despite freezing cold conditions, the families, which included the wife and one-year-old daughter of Dr Mudasir, were planning to continue the protest through the night.

“We don’t want justice. We only want the body of my brother. We want to get a glimpse of his face and give him a decent burial close to his home so that we can visit his grave and pray for him,” Majid, Altaf’s brother said.