Lone militant shows up at chief’s burial

SRINAGAR: An unknown ‘militant’ showed up in the local graveyard of Ratsuna in south Kashmir’s Tral during the burial of Hizbul Mujahideen’s Sabzar Ahmad Bhat on Sunday morning.

He did not have a gun but appeared to carry a grenade in a pouch. His appearance triggered commotion among the mourners in and outside the graveyard.

Locals said he escaped from the encounter on Saturday in which 29-year-old Sabzar and another teenaged militant Faizaan were killed. HT could not independently verify the claims of the locals.

People jostled to touch him and made way for him to reach the grave which was being dug for the slain militant.

Dressed in black, tears rolled down his face as people swarmed around him to touch his face and beard. Some even kissed him and at one moment people carried him on their shoulders.

Just when he reached the grave, he shouted loudly: Hum Kya Chahte (What do we want) and people responded with ‘Azadi’ in unison.

No one seemed sure about his name, though. ‘Adil’, ‘Shakir’ and ‘Azaan’ were the names bandied about. Eyewitnesses said that the militant had also addressed people on Saturday when they had gathered around Sabzar’s body. “We will take revenge,” he reportedly told the gathering.

Deputy inspector general of police, South Kashmir SP Pani and superintendent of police (SP) Awantipora (Tral) Mohammad Zaid were not available for comment.

The funeral prayer of Sabzar was scheduled at 11 am but was offered in an orchard near his home at Ratsuna at 9 am and then taken to the Martyrs’ Graveyard for burial.People continued coming till noon and funeral prayers in absentia were offered multiple times.

PEOPLE SAID THE MILITANT MANAGED TO ESCAPE FROM THE ENCOUNTER SITE ON SATURDAY IN WHICH BHAT AND ANOTHER MILITANT WERE KILLED