Amid azadi slogans, former state home minister leads thousands in funeral of 2 militants

Pro-azadi slogans resonated in the mountainous district of Doda on Thursday during the funeral of the two policemen-turned-militants, which was led by a senior National Conference leader and former minister and attended by thousands of people from several villages of the district.

Hundreds of people converged outside the house of slain militant Ghulam Mohammad Mangnoo in Shah Mohalla village of Doda, when news about his death in a gunfight spread like wildfire this morning, witnesses told . The crowd swelled in numbers by the time body of the slain militant reached the village for last rites.

The killing of Mangnoo and his associate Riaz Ahmad also prompted the traders to down their shutters in mourning, witnesses said.

“Later, the body of Mangnoo was carried by mourners in a procession to the Eidgah. Amidst massive pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, he was laid to rest,” witnesses said.

Former state Home minister Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy led the funeral prayers that were attended by people from Ghat, Sazan, Bagan and other villages of the district.

Suharwardy, who is also an Imam of Doda Jamia Masjid, addressed the mourners before the funeral.

While Maulvi had surrendered as the district commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) before the police in 2010 and joined as an SPO, Riaz had surrendered as the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant in 2010.

Maulvi had joined the LeT in 2003 and Riaz joined Hizb in 1999, according to officials.