Srinagar: The families of the slain five militants killed in Bandipora encounter last month on Thursday held a protest demonstration in Press-Enclave Srinagar demanding the bodies of the slain.

Families and relatives of the slain assembled in Srinagar and demanded that the bodies of the slain be handed over to them.

Pertinently, on September 5 five militants were killed in Sumlar village of Bandipora district in northern Kashmir.

Days after the encounter, the bodies of the militants were claimed by two families each from Kupwara and Pulwama, and one each from Shopian, Kulgam and Kangan. The body of one of the militants identified as Parvaiz alias Maviya was claimed by two families, from Kagan and Pulwama.

The police had claimed that the killed militants were foreigners. The slain were buried in Uri in Baramulla.

On September 28, Jammu and Kashmir Police collected DNA samples of the families.

Picture: Jahangir Shah

“DNA samples will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory on Friday. The samples of the five militants are already with the institute,” a police official had said.

The bodies of the militants will be handed over to their families only after the police receive the laboratory reports on both sets of the DNA samples, said Azad.

The five suspected militants were killed in a two-day encounter, which started on September 20 when the Army, the state police, and the Central Reserve Police Force carried out a cordon and search operation at Shukbaba.

The police, who were able to retrieve their bodies, denied reports that local militants were killed in the operation and buried in Uri. However, the Hizbul Mujahideen later issued a statement claiming that those killed in the encounter were local militants. They were identified as Hyder Ali from Brazul Kulgam, Muhammad Umar from Shopian, Mohammad Siddiq from Bandipora, Maviya from Kangan, and Usman from Lolab.

After the statement, the seven families came forward to claim the bodies.