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Graffiti praising Wani defaced in Srinagar
SRINAGAR: Graffiti art in praise of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani came up at many places here over the last few days but on Wednesday, many stood defaced.
SRINAGAR: Graffiti art in praise of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani came up at many places here over the last few days but on Wednesday, many stood defaced.
Graffiti saying ‘Burhan still in our heart’, ‘Burhan is our hero’, ‘Freedom’, ‘Burhan Azaadi’, and with similar other sentiments could be seen across Srinagar since Saturday, a day after his killing.
On Wednesday morning, when HT scanned shop-shutters and walls in and around the commercial hub of Lal Chowk, many of the them, which were present till Tuesday night, had been defaced. Residents say that youth sympathetic to Wani’s militant activities braved the curfew to come out at night to secretly paint walls and shutters. Residents allege that security personnel are responsible for defacing graffiti in Kashmir but police sources say they have no idea who actually does it.
Political graffiti — specifically pro-militant and pro-Pakistan — is not a new phenomenon in Kashmir. Ahead of the India-Pakistan T20 match earlier this year, a set of pro-Pakistani graffiti was spotted in downtown Srinagar, the older part of the city known for its architectural splendour and violent protests every Friday.
