Muslims defy curfew for last rites of Kashmiri Pandit woman

SRINAGAR: In a show of bonhomie, locals defied curfew to help perform the last rites of a Kashmiri Pandit woman in old city on Saturday.

The residents of Sheikh Mohalla in Maharaj Gunj rushed to help Deepak Malhotra and his family to perform the last rites of his mother, who passed away this morning, a police official said.

"The local Muslims carried the body of the woman to the cremation ground," he said.

Malhotra and his family did not migrate when most of the Kashmiri Pandits fled the Valley at the onset of militancy in 1990.

The old city has been under curfew since last Saturday, following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces.

Normal life remained paralysed across the Valley where at least 39 people have died and over 3,100 left injured in the violence since last week.