Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir): Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti along with other party leaders held a protest in Jammu on Wednesday against the alleged killing of civilians in Hyderpora encounter.

The demonstration was held outside the PDP office. She claimed that three civilians have been killed in the encounter that took place on Monday.

“I am protesting because this government kills civilians in the name of militancy. Nobody knows if militants are being killed. Three civilians have been killed recently. The government refuses to hand over their dead bodies to the families despite the latter’s demand,” Mufti told mediapersons.

PDP President @MehboobaMufti leads protest against the alleged killing of civilians in Hyderpora,Srinagar outside PDP office,Jammu.
Demands stern action against those involved in alleged civilian killings, immediate handing over of dead body to the family for decent burial. pic.twitter.com/31c6BM6xzZ

— J&K PDP (@jkpdp) November 17, 2021

On Tuesday, the PDP chief demanded a judicial inquiry into the Hyderpora encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.

“It is unfortunate that three civilians were killed in the (Hyderpora) encounter. It has become a fashion to brand civilians killed in encounters as OGWs. They have no proof to show that they were Over Ground Workers (OGWs). Such incidents cause more anger among people against us. We want a judicial inquiry into this incident. Strict punishment should be given to the guilty,” she had said.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti had said, “BJP’s strategy to solve Jammu and Kashmir issue by using military is totally wrong. If people of Jammu and Kashmir were to bow down, they would not have stood up to Pakistani attack in 1947.”

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. https://t.co/QOJonQ0kyS

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 16, 2021

An encounter between security forces and terrorists had broken out in the Hyderpora area of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on November 15 after input was received by police regarding the presence of terrorists in an illegal call centre in a private building in the area.

In an official statement, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said that two terrorists identified as Haider, a foreign Pakistani terrorist and his associate Amir Ahmad resident of Banihal (a hybrid terrorist), were killed in the encounter.

It further stated that the owner of the building namely Altaf Ahmad as well as the tenant namely Mudasir Ahmad were also called to accompany the search party. However, in the encounter with terrorists, both received critical gunshot injuries and succumbed to their injuries.