Srinagar: A day after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti accused the Army of using “chemicals” to “disfigure” the bodies of militants killed in encounters, multiple sources in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) told ThePrint that the issue came to the fore during her meetings with “public delegations” in the last two weeks.
A senior PDP leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said Mehbooba had recently met multiple “delegations of locals” who apprised her of the “facts”.
“PDP recently launched a public contact programme under which Mehbooba Mufti met a number of delegations comprising of locals from all over Kashmir. This issue (mutilation of bodies) came up in multiple meetings,” the senior PDP leader said.
“These were locals from south and north Kashmir who told us that they witnessed bodies of militants being mutilated after they were killed in encounters.”
ThePrint contacted other PDP leaders but none of them wanted to come on record. Another senior leader from south Kashmir said the statements made by Mehbooba were basically her “shedding light on an issue brought up by locals”.
“Mutilation of bodies is a very serious issue and we noticed that a lot of locals who were visiting the former CM told her about it,” the leader said.
The defence ministry spokesperson in Kashmir, Col Rajesh Kalia, did not respond to calls or messages sent by ThePrint. This report will be updated when he responds.
The Army also refused to comment on the latest allegations. Similar charges were also made during Mehbooba’s tenure in power, which were denied back then. Sources said that the security forces don’t want to be drawn into allegations being raised as part of an election campaign.
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Made accusation at rally, then tweeted about it
Mehbooba had first made her accusation while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a rally in south Kashmir’s Shangus area Wednesday afternoon.
Later in the evening, the PDP chief tweeted that “even a militant deserves dignity after death”.
In her tweet, Mufti shared a news story, by a local news portal, about a video of security forces assaulting Kashmiri locals carrying the body of a slain militant in Shopian, south Kashmir.
Every human even a militant deserves dignity after death. Armed forces use of chemicals in encounters disfiguring their bodies is inhuman.Imagine the emotions that’ll overcome a boy who sees his brother’s mutilated charred body. Would you be surprised if he picked up a gun? https://t.co/nzBYxyHk6z
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) April 17, 2019
While Mehbooba’s statements have a led to a debate in Srinagar and on social media platforms, Valley-based political parties have so far not been outspoken about the issue.
National Conference spokesperson Imran Dar said, “She (Mehbooba) should clarify the basis of her statement. There has to be some clarity on the reports on which she has based her statement on.”
Also read: ‘Elections are haram’: Kashmiri militant groups ask voters to stay away from Lok Sabha polls