Thousands attend funeral
Shopian: Thousands of people Thursday attended the funeral of two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants at Drabgam and Tarkiwangum areas of Shopian district in south Kashmir.
Witnesses said that amid complete shutdown, the people offered funeral of Hizb militant, Shabir Ahmad Ganie, at Drabgam village and Ashiq Hussain Dar at Tarkiwangum. Amid pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, the bodies were taken in a procession for burial and laid to rest amid sobs and tears.
Scores of other people from adjoining villages also attended the funeral of slain militants.
Ganie was killed at Heft Shirmal Gunfight yesterday along with Ashiq Hussain Dar of Tarkiwangum, another militant. Four army men including a major were injured during the gunfight.
Meanwhile, several pro-freedom leaders and activists including Javid Mir and Zafar Akbar Bhat participated in slains funeral while Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Shabir Ahmad Shah have paid tributes to the slain militants.
According to GNS, a spontaneous shutdown was observed in Drabgam, Matrigam, Muran, Tarkiwangum, Hef Shirmal and its adjoining areas with all the shops and commercial establishments closed. Protests were reported from many villages of the area.
Pertinently, the firefight had erupted on Feb 24 after armys 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), polices Special Operation Group (SOG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cordoned off the Heff Shermal village after receiving specific information about the presence of militants.
Immediately after placing the village under cordon, the forces had started searches to locate the militants. In the meanwhile, the hiding militants fired volley of fire on government forces which was returned by them ensuing an encounter.
Four army troopers including a Major identified as Sandeep of 55 RR also sustained injuries and were shifted to army hospital for treatment.
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