Thousands participate in funeral of slain JeM militant
Kulgam: Thousands of people Monday participated in the funeral prayers of slain Jaish-e-Muhammad militant who was killed along with his two associates in an encounter in Turigam village of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Raqeeb-ul-Islam who was killed along with his two foreign associates in Turigam village of Yaripora belt of Kulgam district on Sunday evening was laid to rest in his native village amid massive pro-freedom sloganeering.
“The two killed Pakistani militants, Waleed and Numan, as per police records, were top commanders of proscribed outfit JeM and were active in the southern parts of the Kashmir Valley.
“As per the police records, they were involved in conspiring and executing several attacks, and were wanted by the law for their complicity in a series of crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several crime cases were registered against them for their activities, he said.
The spokesman said arms and ammunition, including rifles, were recovered from the encounter site.
These materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror cases, he said.
Raqeeb, son of Mohammad Amin Sheikh of Shinganpora Kulgam as per official sources had joined Jaish outfit in May last year. He according to locals was brilliant in his academics and was arrested by forces several times before he joined militant ranks.
Belonging to economically weak family, Raqeeb was a 1st year student at Government Degree College Kulgam before joining militant ranks and is survived by a brother and sister besides his parents.
Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in his funeral prayers before he was laid to rest in his native village.
Eyewitness told Kashmir Vision that at least eight back to back funeral prayers were held before he was laid to rest amid massive pro-freedom and pro-militant sloganeering.
Furthermore, a complete shutdown was observed in Kulgam district today to mourn the death of militants.
All the shops and business establishments remained off in the area while as the vehicular movement was also very thin on the roads.
On Sunday, a deputy superintendent of police, an army jawan and the three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were killed during the encounter in the district’s Turigam area.
Jahangeer Ganaie
