The authorities have started quietly burying the bodies of local youth at faraway places, in unmarked graves, under the supervision of a magistrate, in order to avoid massive participation of locals in the funerals. On April 22, four local youth were killed by the Indian troops in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. Only recently, hundreds of residents of Sopore’s Zaingeer village gathered at the funeral of a 23-year-old martyred youth in Baramulla area. The authorities believe that funerals of the martyred youth could further incite anti-India sentiments, which may erupt into another 2016-like uprising against India in Occupied Kashmir. Therefore, the Indian intelligence has advised the authorities not to hand over the bodies of the martyrs to their families, and instead secretly bury them in the government-managed graveyards.

Source: The Express Tribune April 26, 2020 09:00 UTC