Thousands of people today attended the funeral of slain Hizbul Mujahideen militant Mushtaq Ahmad Chopan at Wagad area of Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district amid a complete shutdown. According to GNS, thousands of people assembled at Wagad to attend the funeral of Chopan who was killed yesterday in a blast inside police station Tral.
Eyewitnesses said some militants also appeared at the funeral and offered gun-salute to their fellow. The locals said thousands of people assembled at Wagad and participated in the last rites of the slain militant amid pro-freedom sloganeering. They said that several rounds of funerals were held for the Chopan. The mourners waved Pakistani flags on the occasion and chanted pro-militant slogans. A complete shutdown was observed in the town against the killing of the slain Mushtaq Ahmad Chopan.
Authorities have also deployed a heavy contingent of forces in Tral to prevent clashes and protests in the area. While police claimed that Chopan died due to blast in a bid to escape after his associates threw the grenade inside police station Tral, Hizbul Mujahideen has termed the killing as stage-managed. The Hizb has termed the police statement as baseless and concocted and urged International hr organizations to take serious note of what it called staged killings.