Locals defy curbs to attend funeral of slain militant

Hundreds of people turned up at Parimpora on the outskirts of Srinagar on Saturday for the funeral of slain militant Mugees Mir, who died after being injured in a gunbattle with the police a day before.

Locals said Mir’s family kept the body at home for the night and mourners started pouring in from the wee hours of Saturday.

The funeral gathering was peaceful, without any reports of clashes between protesters and security personnel.

Mir, police had said on Friday, was a member of the Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda led by Zakir Musa, a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander who parted ways with the outfit earlier this year.

A police sub-inspector, Imran Ahmad, was also killed in the gunfight in which Mir was ini- tially injured in the Zakura locality of Srinagar on Friday. An injured Mir had escaped from the encounter site and then succumbed to his wounds.

Authorities said restrictions were imposed in areas under the jurisdiction of six police stations in Srinagar — Parimpora, Khanyar, MR Gunj, Nowahtta, Rainawari and Safakadal — fearing large-scale protests following Mir’s killing.

Schools and colleges remained closed across Srinagar, while work was suspended in Kashmir University. Scheduled board exams, however, were held after officials made it clear that admit cards would be considered curfew passes.

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested and authorities shifted him to Srinagar central jail on Saturday, in addition to placing Mirwaiz Umer Farooq under house arrest.

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