Srinagar: MLAs of the ruling National Conference and Congress Raised the Ganderbal encounter in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Saturday and demanded that the body of the local man killed in the operation be handed over to his family for a “honorable funeral”.LG Manoj Sinha had on Friday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the encounter after the family of slain man Rasheed Ahmed Mughal disputed the Army’s statement on the encounter that an unidentified terrorist was killed in the operation in the Arahama area on the night of March 31. Rashid’s brother Ajaz Ahmed Mughal called it a fake encounter and lodged a complaint with the police demanding investigation.Raising the issue, NC member and retired high court judge Hasnain Masoodi said: “The right to a dignified burial is a constitutionally recognized right. Under Article 21, the family has the right to perform the last rites. As the investigation progresses, the body should be returned to the family.Congress MLA from Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat demanded a judicial inquiry, saying the administrative inquiry was not sufficient. “The first right of the victim is a proper burial and this must be respected,” he said.Another NC MLA, Mubarak Gul, said the assembly should condemn the incident. “First of all, this should not have happened. Now that it has happened, the House should express concern,” he said. NC MLA from Kupwara Mir Saifullah demanded a government statement on the incident.Since 2019, authorities have buried militants killed in encounters in north Kashmir, including Kupwara and Uri, in designated cemeteries, rather than returning bodies to families, citing concerns over large funeral gatherings.