SRINAGAR: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti welcomed on Saturday the Jammu and Kashmir High Court order that the body of civilian Amir Magrey, dubbed as a terrorist and killed in an encounter in November 2021, be exhumed and handed to his family for last rites.
Mehbooba, however, said it was unfortunate that people have to approach court to get the bodies of their children back.
"Unfortunately, our people have to approach the courts to get the bodies of their children. We get the bodies of our children back because of court directions. What can be more regretful than this? But, still, I am happy that the court has passed the directions for the sake of humanity, and I welcome it," Mehbooba told reporters in Pulwama.
The PDP president visited the residence of the party's youth leader Waheed Parra, who was released on bail after 18 months of detention earlier this week.
In a 13-page order, Justice Sanjeev Kumar ordered on Friday that Amir Magrey's body be exhumed and handed to his family for last rites.
Magrey was among the four people killed in Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar on November 15, 2021.
Police claimed all of them to be terrorists and buried their bodies in Kupwara in north Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had decided in 2020 that it would not hand over the bodies of "terrorists" to the family members and instead would bury them at different places to avoid law and order situation.
However, after a public outcry about the veracity of the encounter, the Jammu and Kashmir administration buckled under pressure and exhumed bodies of two -- Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr Mudasir Gul -- and handed over their bodies to their family members.