Police Foil People’s Bid to ‘Exhume’ Abu Qasim’s Body

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Panic gripped Bugam area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Friday after forces allegedly resorted to tear-smoke shelling to prevent people from exhuming the body of slain militant killed in Khandypora village on Thursday morning whom police later identified as high profile LeT commander Abdul Rehman alias Abu Qasim, a resident of Bahawalpur Pakistan.

Eyewitnesses told CNS as the people were busy in offering Friday prayers in Bugam area of Kulgam district, scores of people from Khandeypora village including the Hajam family that yesterday laid claim over the body of Abu Qasim appeared in the area in vehicles and tried to exhume the body of the militant. “Some locals objected to the act and within no time people assembled at the grave yard and stopped the Khandeypora’s Hajam family from exhuming the dead body of the militant.”

Eyewitnesses added that there was a scuffle between the two groups on the issue while the Hajam family continuously claimed that the slain militant lying in the grave was their son Muhammad Yaqoob. “After deliberations, the two bodies of local Auqaf Committees namely Auqaf Khankah and Auqaf Masjid Noor headed by Fayaz Ahmed and Gowhar Ahmed finally decided in favour of Hajam family,” said an eyewitness adding that as the people from Khandeypora started digging the grave, forces personnel appeared on spot and prevented them from doing so. They said that police resorted to tear-smoking shelling forcing the people of Khandeypora to flee the spot. Reports said that scores of youth pelted stones on the government forces.

When contacted Superintendent of Police Kulgam Mumtaz Ahmed said that people of Khandeypora and Bugam twice locked horns over the issue on Friday. Refuting the allegations that police resorted to tear-gas shelling, SP Kulgam said that there are some miscreants who want to mislead the people over the issue. “Even militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba owned Abu Qasim and confirmed his death,” he said.

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