'Chota Geelani' killed in clashes with cops after Pulwama encounter

Srinagar: A protester nicknamed "Chota Geelani" — rough translation: Geelani Junior — has been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

The clashes took place after Indian Army killed three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in the Pulwama district of the state.

Tauseef Bhat — whom some local sources identify as Touseef Ahmad Wani — was nicknamed Chota Geelani possibly after Hurriyat Hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the separatist leader in J&K who has been demanding a separate Kashmir for quite some time, and even put forward a formula for it.

Bhat — a resident of Tengpuna — has participated in many protests against Indian security forces over the past few years.

On Thursday, he and others resorted to stone-pelting at security forces in Kakapora in the Pulwama district of J&K, where LeT terrorists Majid Mir, Shariq Ahmad and Irshad Ahmad were killed only a day ago.

The local police and personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were targeted by the protesters near the encounter site, and then resorted to tear-gas shelling and aerial firing. Then the cops reportedly resorted to firing pellet guns, in which Bhat was injured.

The 25-year-old was rushed to the sub-district hospital in Pampore where he was declared dead on arrival, according to local reports.