Bodies of slain J&K militants exhumed, handed over to families

Bodies of two militants, killed by the army as it foiled an infiltration bid on the LoC last month, were Tuesday exhumed in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara and handed over to their families following an order by the local District Magistrate, police said.

Two families from Pulwama and Kulgam districts had filed an application before Kupwara's District Magistrate, saying that they had recognized their family members among five slain militants after their photographs were posted on the social media.

Five militants were killed by the army, which had laid an ambush in the Tangdhar area of the Line of Control (LoC) on May 25 night following intelligence reports that a group of heavily-armed militants were planning to infiltrate.

The bodies were buried by locals in Tangdhar area after the army had said that the identity of slain militants was not established.

After recognizing the photographs of two slain militants as Mudasir Ahmad Bhat of Parigam village in Kulgam and Sheraz Ahmad Sheikh of Lajoora village in Pulwama, the families had met senior police officers for help to have the bodies handed over to them for a proper burial.

"Both the bodies were exhumed and handed over to their families who proceeded to their respective villages for performing the last rites," police said.

--IANS

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