Remember This Viral Image Of Burhan Wani And Company? All Of Them Have Been Gunned Down By Army

This image was seen as the representative of a section of Kashmiri youth's mind. The youngsters who choose violence over peace still see the members of Hizbul Mujahideen groups as their heroes. These eleven men led by Burhan Wani were primarily responsible for brainwashing and recruiting the Kashmiri boys and girls to take up arms and involve in anti-India activities. The India army, on the other hand, had vowed to neutralise all these militants and restore peace in the valley.

The image was the beginning of a new style of militancy in Kashmir, where groups like Hizbul and Lashkar used the popularity of the likes of Burhan Wani to attract more youths to their ranks.

It also started the trend youths joining militancy posting their pictures online often holding automatic rifles.

But, ever since, one by one the image has been shrinking. On Sunday, when Saddam Paddar was killed in an encounter in Shopian, the last of the active ¡°Burhan¡¯s boys¡± group, was eliminated, leaving Tariq Pandit who surrendered in 2016 as the lone survivor.

Here is the list of those featured in the photo and a timeline on how they fell, one by one.

Adil Khanday

Adil Khanday was the first militant from the viral image to be eliminated when he and his associate were killed in a gunfight with security forces in south Kashmir¡¯s Shopian on October 22, 2015.

Afaq Bhat

The son of a policeman, Afaq Bhat was the next to be eliminated. He was killed in an encounter in Drabgam, Pulwama on October 26, days after Khanday was killed.

Naseer Pandit and Waseem Malla were killed in an encounter in Shopian on April 7, 2016.

Ishfaq was killed along with two others in Pulwama on May 7.

Burhan Wani

Arguably the most famous of them all. Wani the 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander, was killed along with two other associates on July 8, 2016, in Anantnag.

Sabzar Bhat

Sabzar Bhat was the successor of Burhan Wani and was killed in an encounter on May 27, 2017, in south Kashmir¡¯s Tral.

Wasim Shah

Wasim Shah who left Hizbul to join LeT was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Pulwama on October 14, 2017.

Saddam Hussain Paddar

Saddam Hussain Paddar was killed along with five other militants in an encounter in Shopian on Sunday.

Anees

Not much is known but the 26-year-old, but police say he has also been killed.

Tariq Pandit

Tariq Pandit is the only surviving member of the group. He surrendered to police in Pulwama on May 28, 2016.