One of the most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen commanders, Riyaz Naikoo was eliminated by security forces in Awantipora district where an encounter took place this morning.
Naikoo, one of the oldest members of the prominent Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, took over as its commander after their poster boy and commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Kokarnag area in Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.
Prior to joining the militant ranks, Naikoo was a mathematics teacher. He was known to have a passion for painting roses before he picked up the gun at the age of 33.
Naikoo made his presence felt for the first time in January 2016, during the funeral of Shariq Ahmad Bhat, who had been killed in an encounter. Riyaz had fired shot in the air with his Kalashnikov rifles, reviving a long-gone tradition of paying tributes to slain militants in Kashmir.
He is now a top-rated (A++ category) militant in Kashmir who carries a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head.
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