Syed Ali Shah Geelani Laid To Rest In 'Quiet Funeral', Family Alleges Forced Burial
The burial of Geelani, who breathed his last earlier on Wednesday, took place around 4.30 a.m.
Srinagar: Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was buried in a quiet funeral at a graveyard near his residence in Srinagar’s Hyderpora amid tight security arrangements on Thursday.
The burial of Geelani, who breathed his last earlier on Wednesday, took place around 4.30 a.m.
READ: Hurriyat Leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani Passes Away, Mehbooba Mufti Extends Condolences
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said that no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.
“The situation is being reviewed and watched closely. The deployments are in position,” he said.
The Hurriyat patriarch’s family, however, alleged the police forcibly took away his body for burial.
His son Naseem Geelani said the family had planned the burial at the main martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar as per his will, but “they (police) snatched his body and forcibly buried him”.
“We told the administration that we will bury him at 10 am so that our relatives who live in far-off areas could attend,” Naseem told Al Jazeera.
“But they took the body forcefully at 3 am and did not allow any of us to take part in the last prayers. They even argued with the women in the family who resisted taking away his body,” he added.
The separatist leader, who spearheaded many street protests in Kashmir in the past, was largely confined to his residence because of ill-health since 2010.
Geelani was ailing for a long time and was under house detention since 2008 at his Hyderpora residence.
He announced his resignation last year as the chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G).
Geelani was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir but later on founded Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. He also served as the chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a conglomerate of pro-separatist parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
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