SRINAGAR: Clashes erupted on Tuesday in India-held Kashmir as police fired tear gas to stop thousands of people from marching in a funeral procession of a “militant commander” killed in a clash with government forces.

Sajad Ahmed Bhat was killed on Monday night on the outskirts of Srinagar, said police Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani. He said Bhat was a top “commander” and had been active in the disputed region for over a decade.

Thousands of people chanting slogans against Indian rule assembled in Bhat’s home village on Tuesday and tried to march on a highway connecting the Himalayan region with India while carrying his body for burial.

Police fired tear gas to stop the march, triggering clashes as groups of young men hurled rocks at the troops. Witnesses said hundreds of people managed to take a different route to the graveyard and bury Bhat’s body there.

Thousands of people participate in funerals of militants in India-held Kashmir, where sentiment against Indian rule runs deep.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2016