SRINAGAR: Peoples Alliance For Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) President Dr Farooq Abdullah has written a letter to the president of India demanding a judicial probe in the Hyderpora encounter. Following is the text of the letter.
Respected Rashtrapatiji,
The tragic incident took place at Hyderpora, Srinagar on the evening of 15th November 2021. has evoked enormous pubic anger.
In this unfortunate incident, three civilians got killed in suspicious circumstances. The incident calls for a time-bound Judicial probe so that true facts are unravelled and brought in the public domain.
Needless to state that such unfortunate incidents widen the gulf between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Government of India and, therefore, are to be avoided at any cost.
We would remind your excellency that the administration of Jammu and Kashmir Is being run In the name of Your Excellency by the Lt Governor acting as an agent and, therefore an onerous responsibility is placed on Your Excellency to ensure that the rule of law prevails and the involved erring officials are brought to book and punished under the law.
We would also bring to your notice the practice of taking away the bodies of the victims of such incidents and depriving their families of the right to organize their burial in accordance with religious practices. In the unfortunate incident of Hyderpora also, the bodies of three civilians have been taken away by the Security Forces and reportedly buried 100 KMs away from their residences.
Your Excellency, the right to decent burial Is well recognized in the Constitution of India as well as in the International humanitarian law.
The dead bodies cannot be denied the right to burial under any circumstances including the so-called law and order problem. The bereaved families likewise also have a right to organize the burial of the dead body in accordance with their religious practices. In the previous few years, such rights have been violated with Impunity.
In the present case, these rights are being denied. We would request Your Excellency to intervene in the matter and ensure that the dead bodies are returned to their families so that they can perform their last rites in accordance with their respective religious practices.
The matter is of grave concern and calls for urgent action.
With warm regards.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Farooq Abdullah
Shri Rm Nath Kovind,
Hon’ble President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
