Thousands participate in funeral prayers of slain teen, militant

Srinagar, Jun 30: Braving rains, thousands of mourners on Saturday participated in the funeral prayers of slain teen, Faizan Ahmad Poswal and LeT militant Sajad Ahmad Shah at their native places in Gosannad Ludhow village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district and Chogul Handwara in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district respectively.
Two rounds of funeral prayers were held at local Eidgah while a third one had already been offered at District Hospital Pulwama.
Since late Friday evening mourners marched in thousands to reach the native village of Faizan to participate in his funeral and to have his last glimpse.
Son of a doctor, Faizan, a Class 10 student, had gone to the gunfight site at Chatapora where he along with hundreds of youth joined the stone pelting protests to disrupt the operation.
Dozens of youth sustained bullet, pellet and tear smoke shell injuries during the clashes and were shifted to Pulwama hospital for treatment. But Faizan was hit by a bullet in chest and lost battle for his life on way to the hospital.
Meanwhile, in Handwara too, thousands attended the funeral prayers of slain militant Sajad alias Abu Mansoor, a resident of Chogul village of Handwara.
Reports said that as soon the body of slain militant reached his ancestral village Chogul Handwara, thousands of people including women from adjacent villages poured in to have a last glimpse of slain militant.
Sajad is survived by six months-old kid Huzaif, wife, a brother and six sisters of whom 4 are married.
A shopkeeper by profession, Sajad according to family members left his readymade garments shop in Langate area of Kupwara last year in 2017 and disappeared.
After the incident, they got a call that Sajad has joined militant ranks.
A complete shutdown was observed in parts of Handwara with youth clashing with government forces at many places in the area.