Social distancing: How Indian Forces are disposing off terrorists with quiet funerals

New Delhi, Apr 24: The coronavirus spread has not stopped the Indian Army in gunning down Pakistan sponsored terrorists. While terrorists continue to operate in the Valley, the security forces have been successful in gunning down several of them in the past couple of weeks.

However, the problem that the security agencies have faced in the past is the crowding at terrorist funerals. During those times, it caused a security problem and today there is an added problem of coronavirus, which requires social distancing.

Jammu and Kashmir too has been hit by the pandemic and the administration has been advising social distancing.

It was only recently following the killing of a terrorist in Sopore that large crowds turned up at his funeral. However, the security forces have now shifted their strategy and have successfully ensured quiet funerals for these terrorists.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, 16 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir. This week, the authorities managed to bury four terrorists quietly at Ganderbal.

They were killed in a gunfight in Shopian in South Kashmir. On April 17, two terrorists were killed in an encounter at Shopian. The two who were killed were quietly buried at Baramulla in north Kashmir the same day after all formalities were completed.

In both these cases, the police said that the terrorists were not identified. However, in the Shopian case, the families claimed that the two terrorists were their sons. They have now approached the District Magistrate demanding that the bodies are handed over.

This is a clear message that the forces and the authorities are sending out to ensure that these terrorists are not buried in the presence of large crowds. Large crowds gathering especially in a situation like this is nothing but a nightmare. First and foremost it is a security issue and secondly, all efforts being made by the administration to curb the spread of the pandemic will be lost, an official informed OneIndia.

In the previous funerals, crowds had gathered in Kulgam. The police had a tough time in controlling the crowds. Following this, an FIR was filed and 100 persons were arrested.

The times are challenging. We are already in the midst of a fight against the pandemic and hence such steps had to be taken to ensure that terrorists are buried off quietly.

Since the outbreak of the virus, 16 terrorists have been killed of which the bodies of only five have been handed over to the families. The families have to undertake that the funerals will be held quietly and if found violating the same, stringent action would follow.

The officer cited above said that they are following the same norm that is done in the case of foreign terrorists. All foreign terrorists have been given quiet funerals to ensure that there are no huge crowds and they do not end up becoming heroes, the officer also said.