Srinagar, April 10 PDP leader Iltija Mufti visited the residence of Rashid Ahmad Mughal, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Ganderbal, on Friday, and said her party would support any agitation by the people seeking the return of his body.
"Mughal was killed in broad daylight by the Army. He was an honest man and a member of the PDP. He left home wearing a kameez-shalwar, and when his body was recovered, he was wearing trousers and a shirt, with his arms outstretched," Iltija alleged while speaking to reporters.
The Army had claimed that the man it killed in an encounter in the Arhama forests on March 31 was a terrorist.
However, the family of Mughal refuted the official claim that he had links with terrorism. They alleged that the encounter was staged and have demanded the return of his body for proper burial.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the allegations, and the report is expected to be submitted within a week.
PDP leader Iltija visited Mughal's residence in Choontwaliwar in the central Kashmir district of Ganderbal.
Iltija said she was grateful to the LG for ordering an inquiry into the incident, but after interacting with the family, she has come to the conclusion that Mughal was an "innocent civilian who was killed by the Army and evidence was planted on his body".
"Kashmir is the only state in India where an innocent person is killed and then an excuse is given that he was a militant," she said.
Seeking the return of Mughal's body, Iltija said that people are saying that if Mughal's body is not returned within a week, they will come out on the streets to protest.
"The family seeks the body, and I want to assure the people here that if they come out on the roads seeking the body, we will stand with them shoulder to shoulder," she added. The PDP, she said, wants justice for the family.
"Let the Army face the law, as the law applies to everyone, including the Army. You cannot exploit the AFSPA. The soldier who killed Mughal for a reward should be brought before the public. Take him to court; we want justice. It is shameful for the Army to kill an innocent person just for a reward," she asserted.