Srinagar: Kashmir's most wanted militant and Hizbul chief Riyaz Naikoo has been killed in his native Beighpora village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Although the officials are yet to confirm, reports claim that Naikoo was killed in an encounter which started late night on May 5. According to reports, the top Hizbul Mujahideen commander had come to visit his home in Beighpora village.
The joint operation by the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police, moved in quickly to seal all entry and exit points of the village.
WHO IS RIYAZ NAIKOO?
Naikoo, the oldest surviving members of the Hizbul Mujahideen, was born to Asadullah and Begam Zeba in Beighpora village in April 1985. Asadullah and Zeba worked in their own fields, while Asadullah had also set up a small tailoring shop.
Naiko, an A++ category militant carrying a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head, is second among his siblings (a sister and three brothers). He is not only wanted in multiple incidents of killing of security personnel, including police officials but also was featured in photographs with Burhan Wani, who was killed in Anantnag in July 2016.
In January 2016, Naikoo made his presence felt after he gave gun salutes to Shariq Ahmad Bhat, an HM militant killed during a gunfight. This incident revived the tradition of paying tributes to slain militants in Kashmir.
Then in 2017, Naikoo issued a video statement welcoming Kashmiri pandits back to the Valley. he claimed that militants were not their enemies.
Before joining the militant ranks, Naikoo worked as a mathematics teacher at a local school. He was known to have passion for painting roses before he picked up the gun at the age of 33.
Security forces hold Naikoo responsible for holding the Hizbul together after its possible disintegration when Zakir Musa broke away from the Hizbul ranks to form his own splinter group.
Musa split from the Hizbul in 2017 and formed his own group called Ansar Ghazwatul Hind that claimed to be the Indian affiliate of the Al-Qaeda.
Following which, Naikoo was given the reins of the outfit. And since then, Naikoo managed to hold his own outfit together without saying a single word against rivals or other outfits operating in Kashmir.
In 2018, after militant attacks in South Kashmir, Naikoo had reassured Amarnath Yatris that the pilgrims were guests of Kashmir and they need not worry about their safety. He had also asked for the repatriation of Pandits to Kashmir, assuring them safety and saying that the militants were not against them.
Musa was killed in Dadsara area in Tral tehsil in an encounter with the security forces on May 23, 2019.
Read: Militant killed in encounter in J-K's Pulwama; another gunfight underway in district
