Families of two civilians allegedly killed in an encounter in Hyderpora in Srinagar were removed by police and detained when they were protesting in Press Enclave on Wednesday.

The families of Altaf Bhat and Mudassir Gul staged a protest along with civil society members demanding justice for the victims and the return of their bodies.

All the protesters were detained by police and later allowed to return to their homes. Police said this was done for the safety of protesters as temperatures touched sub zero in J&K.

Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it was outrageous that the J&K administration did not allow the families to conduct a peaceful sit-in protest.

“I have rarely seen families who have been wronged conduct themselves with such dignity. They have been reasonable in their demands & dignified in their conduct. The result of this is visible for all to see as the police drags them away in the dead of night,” Omar Abdullah said.

During Monday’s encounter in Hyderpora, police claimed that a Pakistani terrorist and his local associate Mohammad Amir, along with two civilians — Altaf Bhat and Mudassir Gul — were killed. Police claimed an illegal call centre and a terror hideout were allegedly being run by them.

A controversy erupted following conflicting claims about the two deceased civilians. Their family members contested the police’s charge that they were “terror associates”.

Police said the bodies of all the four killed in the encounter were buried in the Handwara area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, PTI reported.

Earlier, Omar Abdullah, National Conference vice-president, had said the civilians were killed because they were put in harm’s way.

“The police admit they took the building owner (Altaf) & the tenant (Gul) into the building & used them to knock on doors. How then can these people be termed as militants? They are civilians who died because they were put in harm’s way,” Abdullah tweeted.

He said to “vilify them as militants or OGWs is bad enough, but to take the bodies away and forcibly bury them in North Kashmir is a crime against humanity”. “The bodies must be returned to the families so they can be buried. It’s the only just thing & it’s the only humanitarian thing to do,” he said.