Jammu, August 01, 2023 (PPI-OT): The compensation of Rs 5 lakh deposited in my account by the Indian authorities “clearly shows my son was innocent”, said Latif Magray, father of Amir Magray who along with three other youth was killed by Indian forces’ personnel in Hyderpora area of Srinagar on November 15, 2021 after being dubbed militants. However, after a protracted legal battle, the Magray family of Ramban district was on Sunday allowed by the court to visit the grave of their martyred son Amir Magray in Kupwara and offer special prayers.
Amir Magray was among four youth killed by Indian troops in a fake encounter in Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar on November 15, 2021. Police had claimed that they were militants and buried their bodies in a graveyard in Kupwara. His father Mohammad Latif said the family feels relieved after offering prayers at the grave of their son.
The mere compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family from the administration was termed by Latif as washing away the “blot of terrorism” on his head, which the observers interpret as an acknowledgment of the administration that the youth were innocent, and were, in fact, killed in the fake encounter. Latif, his wife and eight other relatives performed ‘Fateh Khawani at the grave in the Wadoora village of the Handwara.
The Police in 2020 decided that it would not hand over the bodies of the youth to their family members and instead bury them at different places. However, after a public outcry about the veracity of the Hyderpora encounter, the administration buckled and exhumed the bodies of two youth- Altaf Ahmad Butt and Dr Mudasir Gul – and handed those over to their families.
Latif was, however, refused Magray’s body following which he approached IIOJK High Court for relief. A single-bench judge in May 2022 ordered the exhumation of the body and handing it over to the family for last rites along with a compensation of Rs 5 lakh. A division bench of the high court later modified the judgment, restricting the family to performing the rituals and directing the administration to pay the compensation.
Latif later filed a Special Leave Petition in the Indian Supreme Court. However, the top Indian court upheld the decision of the division bench of the high court, saying, “It will be too much at this stage to disinter the body.” “We visited the grave of our son on Sunday. The compensation amount of Rs 5 lakh was deposited in my account on July 21. This clearly shows my son was innocent and not a terrorist,” Latif told the media at his residence in Ramban’s Sangaldan.
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