Abdul Basheer’s funeral procession passes off peacefully amid harmony

MANGALURU: The funeral procession of Abdul Basheer, who succumbed to injury on Sunday after being attacked by four persons on January 3, passed off peacefully at

Panjimogaru

's

Kooluru Muhiyuddin Jumma Masjid

.

On Sunday afternoon, the body of Abdul Basheer, 47, who had been allegedly attacked to avenge the death of activist Deepak Rao that created communal tension in the coastal Karnataka was kept in

Akashabhavana

after the body was brought from hospital at 2.45pm, but only villagers and women were allowed to see his body.

When the body reached Akashabhavana, a large number of people had gathered - among them only 14 Muslim families while the rest belonged to the Hindu community. Those present included his family members.

When Basheer’s body reached Akashabhavan, which has always been known for communal harmony, the whole area mourned his death, eyes of most of the people wet even as Hindus outnumbered Muslims.

In the evening, people from all communities - Muslims, Christians and Hindus - visited the mosque and had a final glimpse of the body.

It is a known fact here, Basheer had once saved the life of a Hindu friend, Prabhakar, in Saudi Arabia in 1993. "Be aware that he belongs to us. Don't try to attack him," Basheer has said when a group of Muslims tried to attack him. Basheer is survived by wife and three sons and a daughter. The district administration has announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to the victim's family.

Read this in Kannada

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