A long night in Srinagar as teen is buried

The boys carried the stretcher through the narrow swampy street at 3 am on Monday,guided only by the light of their cellphone torches.

The boys carried the stretcher through the narrow swampy street at 3 am on Monday,guided only by the light of their cellphone torches. Anger seethed just below the surface,their slogans sounding like rhythmic wails. A child watched from a window as an elderly woman held him tight and showered almonds and sweets on the procession. A few fell on the body,wrapped in a colourful blanket.

Fida Nabi 17 was returning home one last time,in a funeral procession bursting with fury,ready for any confrontation with security forces.

However,in a city sitting on a powderkeg,one such conflagaration was averted last night after the elders intervened,convincing their young to bury Fida at night,before the harsh light of day brought in a fresh wave of protests.

Fida had been at the forefront of several protests and the procession included dozens of his teenager friends, spread across the downtown city. He was hit on August 3 by a bullet fired by CRPF men,that richocheted off a rock.

The local police officer had sent a message,saying they wouldnt allow more than 15 people to accompany the body during the day.

An elderly man tried to convince the teenagers to let Fida be buried in the local graveyard; they didnt agree. They wanted to take the body to Nawabazar in downtown,then wait for the sun to rise and take him to the martyrs graveyard in neighbouring Eidgah. The Eidgah graveyard is the biggest in the Valley,and men and women killed in security operations are buried here,along with hundreds of militants.

At one point during the night,the boys placed the body on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. An Army convoy had passed through and the elders apprehended a clash. They pleaded again and the boys agreed to bring the body back home.

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Fidas body was placed in the middle of a tent,surrounded by dozens of women. As Fidas mother Zahida Nabi wailed,his teenager friends started shouting Azadi slogans.

With the police consistently sending messages not to delay the burial for the morning,the elders decided to arrange for a truck to take the body to Nawabazar. At around 3 am,the funeral procession finally left. The elders ensured that it took a winding road,avoiding security bunkers.

We dont want to even take the slightest risk, Masood Ahmad,a businessman and a neighbour of the family said. The boys are shouting slogans and if they securitymen react angrily,there will be a massacre.

In Nawabazar,the boys made an announcement over the mosque loudspeaker. Residents woke up,as another funeral prayer was held.

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The securitymen watched from the pigeonholes of their bunkers,but didnt venture out. A cleric pacified the boys and the procession moved towards the Eidgah graveyard.

Fida was buried next to his friend Anees,who died in firing last week. It was already dawn. He Fida had come and helped dig the grave and carry mounds of earth, his friend Waseem recalled. We didnt know he was next.