Srinagar
After fifteen back-to-back funerals since Sunday evening, top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Saddam Padder was laid to rest in district Shopian on Monday morning.
KL Image by Mukhtar Zahoor
Amid restrictions several thousand people managed to reach the hometown of the militant in Heff, Shopian, to participate in his last prayers. Heff is approximately 55 kilometers away from Srinagar.
Reports said that multiple funerals were held for Saddam on Sunday evening as well. Eyewitness said, “Since morning, several more funerals were held for the slain militant. And people had managed to reach Heff from across Kashmir.”
They said that roughly over fifteen funeral prayers were held for the Saddam since yesterday evening.
Eyewitness also said that the slain militant’s mother gave a gun salute to her son. “She fired some gunshot in the air while using Saddam’s associate’s rifle, where bodies of her son and Bilal Moulvi were kept as people were still thronging the area. It was an emotional outburst.”
Earlier, on Sunday evening some armed militants also appeared in one of his funerals and offered a gun salute to their associate amid pro-freedom, pro-Islam and pro-Pakistan slogans.
KL Image by Shah Hilal
Emotional scenes were witnessed from the funeral site where scores of men and women were praising Saddam while his body was being carried towards the grave.
Pertinently, Sadaam was killed along with three other militants of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, and Dr Mohammad Rafi Bhat, in a gunfight with forces in Badigam village of Shopian district on Sunday.
Five civilians were also killed after forces fired protesters at a number of places in south Kashmir.
KL Image by Mukhtar Zahoor
Meanwhile, a complete shutdown is being observed across Kashmir to mourn the civilian and militant killings. With train services suspended, the mobile internet also remains suspended in Srinagar and in south Kashmir.
