• Thousands including masked militants participate in his Nimaz-e-Jinaza
• 7 civilians, many cops injured in day-long clashes
At least six separate funeral prayers were held Monday for the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Dawood Sheikh killed in a gunfight with troops yesterday after overwhelming number of people thronged the Qaimoh village of Kulgam to pay their last respects to the slain militant.
21 year old Hizb commander Sheikh Dawood was killed in Buchroo village of Kulgam district during a brief gunfight with forces yesterday. He was a resident of Qaimoh village and a most wanted Hizb militant.
Thousands of people, from different parts of the south Kashmir, thronged the Qaimoh village since early morning today to attend Dawood’s funeral prayers.
The first funeral prayer was held at about 10 am.
However, people kept pouring in large numbers and subsequently the emotional people held six funeral prayers for the slain militant amidst chanting of pro-freedom and pro-Islamic slogans. The process of funeral prayers ended at about 11:15 am after which Dawood was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard.
Sources said at least four masked militants appeared in the area and participated in the funeral prayers of the slain militant.
“The militants left the scene in a hurry after people tried to get close to them to hug them,” they said.
Soon after the burial, clashes erupted in Khodweni and Qaimoh areas.
The youth in hundreds took to roads and clashed with police and paramilitary CRPF men amid pro-freedom and anti-India sloganeering.
The cops resorted to tear smoke shelling, aerial firing and pellet firing to disperse the agitating youth. The clashes continued throughout the day.
At least 7 civilians and some police men were injured during the clashes. All of the injured are in stable condition.
SP Kulgam, Mumtaz Ahmad, said many policemen were injured during the clashes.
He said clashes are going on and “we are yet to get an exact figure of our injured men” .
The clashes were going on when this report was being filed.
Who Was Dawood
Dawood Ahmad Sheikh, 22, joined the militant ranks of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in 2013 when he was a 12th class student. Soon, he became the most wanted militant, listed as A++ category militant, in police records, a police official said.
Dawood, a close associate of Hizb commander Burhan, had surfaced in many videos circulated on social media. In one of the photos that went viral on social networking site Facebook, he was seen with Burhan while flaunting his AK-47 rifle.
According to his neighbors, Dawood was arrested several times on charges of stone-pelting—before his militancy links surfaced.
Police claim that Dawood was involved in the killing of Territorial Army man Gowhar Ahmad in Khudwani.
Dawood was youngest among his siblings—two brothers—who are into business and a sister. His father Ghulam Muhmamad passed away when he was only a kid, locals said.
Dawood’s mother Parveena said her son has “achieved the purpose of his life.”
“Though he was an inseparable part of our life, I have no regrets whatsoever today. He always wanted to fight for freedom and die as a martyr and today he has achieved his goal,” Parveena said.
“He came to visit me only two days back and sought forgiveness from me for not serving me in his life,” Parveena told at her residence where hundreds of people visited during the day to offer their condolences to her.
Hizb Pays Tributes
Meanwhile, HizbulMujhadeen paid rich tribute to Dawood Ahmed Sheikh at its Command Council meeting that was presided over by the outfit’s Chief, Syed Salahuddin
“Though the martyrdom of Dawood is a big loss, his sacrifice will play a cardinal role in ending Indian occupation in Kashmir,” a Hizb spokesman told local news agency CNS in a statement.
He advised the Hurriyat leadership and militants to be “vigilant about black sheep” in Kashmir.
“The blood of youth will not go waste and the freedom movement will continue till it is taken to its final destination,” he said.
