No vote cast from Burhan Wani’s village, only 15 from Pulwama suicide bomber’s native

PTI, May 7, 2019, 11:24 AM IST

Srinagar: Nobody from the village of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, voted Monday, while just 15 from the native place of Pulwama suicide bomber, who nearly brought India and Pakistan to a war, cast the ballots, officials said.

Also, zero polling was witnessed from the villages of other top militant commanders in south Kashmir, the hotbed of militancy in the valley, they said.

Just 15 votes (of the total 350) were polled In Gundibagh, a village that hit the international headlines on February 14 after one of its residents Adil Dar became a suicide bomber for Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group and triggered a blast in an explosive-laden car near a CRPF convoy killing 40 personnel, the officials said.

The incident on February 14 dramatically escalated the tension between India and Pakistan.

Also, zero voting was recorded from Noorabad, the village of Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar-Gazawat-ul-Hind terror group; Beighpora, the village of the incumbent Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo; and Sheikhpora, the village of Mudassir Khan, the mastermind of February 14 terror strike, said the officials.

Wani’s killing in an encounter with security forces in 2016 had triggered a massive unrest in the valley that left nearly 100 people dead and thousand others, including security forces, injured.

Elsewhere, deserted roads and the overwhelming presence of security personnel marked elections in the militancy strongholds of Shopian and Pulwama districts, part of the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, that recorded three per cent voting with over 25 per cent stations not recording any polling at all.