SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday ordered a magisterial inquiry into an encounter in Arhama village of Ganderbal district, following allegations by the deceased’s family that he was an innocent civilian and not a militant.
The District Magistrate has been tasked with conducting a thorough and impartial probe and submitting a report to the Home Department within seven days, the Lieutenant Governor said, assuring that all aspects of the incident would be examined to ensure justice.
The inquiry comes a day after the family of 28-year-old Rashid Ahmad Mughal, a resident of Chount Waliwar in Lar area of Ganderbal, contested the Army’s claim that a terrorist had been killed in the encounter on Wednesday. The family maintained that Rashid had no links to militancy.
Rashid’s brother, Aijaz Ahmad Mughal, said he had left home on the morning of March 31 but did not return. “When I called him, his phone was switched off. While I was working in Nallah Sindh, a police jawan informed me that my brother had met with an accident,” he said.
He added that he was taken to the Police Control Room in Srinagar, where he identified the body bearing multiple bullet injuries.
The family alleged that the body was not handed over to them and was instead buried in a graveyard in north Kashmir. They have demanded that the body be returned for the last rites and that an FIR be registered against those responsible.
Rejecting the Army’s claim, the family said Rashid was well-educated, held an MCom degree, and helped locals with documentation such as domicile certificates. “If he had any links with militancy, why wasn’t he arrested from home?” Aijaz asked, pointing to the presence of an Army camp near their residence. He also said his elder brother had been killed by militants in 2000.
The Army had earlier stated in a post on X that a terrorist was killed during a gunfight following a cordon operation in Arhama village.
Reacting to the development on X, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, “I believe the claim of the family should not be dismissed out of hand. At the very least this encounter needs a transparent & time-bound probe with the facts made public”.
“Any attempt to obfuscate or delay the announcement of a probe will only damage credibility & that is not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
Former Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also raised questions on the Ganderbal encounter.
“Two days back there was an encounter in Arhama in which a 29-year-old local youth, Rashid Mughal was killed. There are allegations that it was a fake encounter. The Army first said he was a foreign militant, then they said he was a local linked to militancy,” Mehbooba said.