An outcry has erupted in Kashmir against the army after a family alleged that the “militant” killed in the "gunfight" in Ganderbal on Tuesday night was a civilian with a postgraduate degree.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah joined a chorus of politicians calling for a probe into the incident. The Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said on Wednesday that “a cordon was tactically reorganised amidst the intermittent firing underway” in Arhama village of Ganderbal on the night of March 31, during which “own troops effectively retaliated with calibrated response resulting in one terrorist eliminated”.

While the army has not identified the alleged militant, a tribal family in Ganderbal accused the army of killing a family member, Rashid Ahmad Mughal, 28, in a staged gunfight. They said he had no links with militancy and eked out a living by assisting people in preparing domicile, Aadhaar and other certificates.

Rashid’s elder brother, Ajaz Ahmad Mughal, told The Telegraph that he left home in the morning of March 31. “When he did not return, we called him on the phone but it was switched off. We were worried but had no clue where he had gone,” Ajaz, a resident of Chountwaliwar village in Ganderbal, said.

“I am a labourer and had to leave early in the morning for work. While there, the station house officer of Lar approached me and said my brother had met with an accident. They told me he was murdered and I was taken to Batamaloo in Srinagar for identification.”

Ajaz said he was shocked to find his brother lying dead, riddled with bullets. “One side of his body was torn apart by gunshot wounds. I was told to accompany him for burial. I could not call my family as my phone was with them. They did not even allow me to take his body home. Instead, I was asked to accompany them for his burial in Handwara. I was alone as no one from my family or acquaintances could join us,” he said.

Omar posted on X: “I believe the claim of the family should not be dismissed out of hand. At the very least this encounter needs a transparent & time-bound probe with the facts made public.”

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said there were allegations that he was killed in a fake gunfight.