Representational image. Courtesy: PTI
Srinagar: A top J&K Police officer on Monday said that the three youth killed in Lawaypora gunfight last month were militants and police will soon convince the parents of slain trio with "concrete evidence."
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar Monday said they have collected most of the evidence in the case which suggest that the trio were militants.
"We have collected 60 percent evidence and in next days, we will collect more evidence including the technical one and will first convince the parents of slain trio that their sons were involved in militancy and were providing logistic support to militants," IGP Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of a road safety week function in Srinagar.
On December 30, Jammu and Kashmir police announced that three "terrorists" were killed in an overnight "encounter" in the Lawaypora area on the outskirts of Srinagar.
The dead men were named as Ajaz Maqbool Ganie and Ather Mushtaq from South Kashmir's Pulwama district and Zubair Ahmad Lone from Shopian.
Hours after the gunfight, family members of the slain men began to protest outside the Police Control Room in Srinagar, claiming that the dead men were not militants but civilians. The trio were buried in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district and families of the slain have been seeking bodies.
The father of one of the slain has even dug a grave at his native place for his son.
IGP Kumar said that because of the CoVID-19 pandemic, bodies of slain militants aren't being handed over to their families.
"If we hand over the bodies, people will assemble for funeral and break the Covid protocol, which would endanger the lives of people. The bodies of slain militants are being buried in the presence of their family members," IGP said.