Jammu and Kashmir legislators from both ruling and Opposition parties, barring the BJP, on Saturday expressed outrage over the alleged fake encounter in Ganderbal, with some demanding a judicial inquiry, amid uproar in the Assembly.

The army has run into controversy after a family in Ganderbal contested its claim of killing a militant in an encounter in Arhama forests on March 31, identifying the slain man as their relative Raashid Ahmad Mughal, 28, a commerce postgraduate. They said he was innocent and had no links with militancy.

Amid protests, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Friday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. He said the probe, to be completed in seven days, would examine all aspects of the incident and ensure justice.

The National Conference, Congress and Peoples Democratic Party MLAs condemned the alleged killing, with some expressing dissatisfaction over a magisterial probe. The Assembly witnessed uproar as it convened for the final day of the budget session. Members demanded that the body of the slain man be returned to the family for proper burial.

Authorities had buried the slain man in far-off Handwara, allowing only his brother Ajaz Ahmad Mughal to attend. Over the years, the government has buried hundreds of people, mostly militants, in distant graveyards without handing over bodies to families, with only a few relatives permitted at funerals.

NC MLA Mubarak Gul raised the issue, saying such inquiries achieve little and calling for stronger action to ensure innocents are not killed. “Was he a militant that he was killed? A life was lost. While we want peace, an innocent man was killed,” he said.

Congress legislator Nizamuddin Bhat said a judicial probe can ensure fairness and credibility, while inquiries at the "administrative level tend to balance competing interests, which can affect the accountability".

"A deputy commissioner has been directed to hold an inquiry. In such cases, there are lacunas in the administrative inquiry. They (officers) take care not to offend one side or another… What is required in such grave matters is a judicial inquiry,” he said, calling for transparency and timely justice.

Congress MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone waved a placard demanding a fair, time-bound probe and said those responsible must be punished.

NC MLA and former Jammu and Kashmir High Court judge Hasnain Masoodi said the family had been denied the right to a proper burial, calling it a fundamental right. “How long will this practice continue that somebody is buried somewhere while his (ancestral) graveyard is somewhere else… The right to decent burial should be respected,” he said.

NC MLA Mir Saifullah said an innocent man had been killed and sought a government statement.