Bodies of Riyaz Naikoo, associate to be buried at undisclosed location

The bodies of Riyaz Naikoo, the operational commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, and his associate who were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Wednesday will not be handed over to their families but instead will be buried by authorities at an undisclosed location.

The decision, officials said, was taken to stop glorification and big funeral processions of terrorists.

The bodies of killed terrorists will not be given to relatives, the administration will burry them and location will not be revealed, sources said.

Naikoo was killed in an encounter with security forces in his home village in Kashmir's Pulwama district on Wednesday. A top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Naikoo had been on the run for eight years and carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head.

Mobile internet services were suspended in Kashmir as a precautionary measure in anticipation of protests over the encounter.

While no civilians or security personnel was injured in the encounter, locals started pelting stones at forces near the village where the encounter took place.

Youths surrounded a security forces vehicle and pelted stones on them.

Born in April 1985 in Beighpora village of Awantipora tehsil in Pulwama district, he taught mathematics at a private school before being arrested for protesting the death of a 17-year-old boy in 2010. Naikoo joined Hizbul Mujahideen on June 6, 2012 after his release from the prison.

Since then, he had dodged security forces and kept rising in the ranks of the terror group.