News of the killing of Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo led to some incidents of people pelting stones at security forces. However, the police said the situation was under control.

New Delhi, May 6:

Heavy stone pelting is being reported from the area where security forces gunned down top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo earlier in the day.

While sources say that Union Home Ministry is in constant touch with the Jammu and Kashmir Police over the law and order situation, DG Dilbagh Singh has said that the situation was under control.

In view of the encounter, mobile telephone services of private operators and mobile internet services remain suspended across the Valley.

After being on run for eight years, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo was killed by security forces in his village in Kashmir’s Pulwama district after an encounter on Wednesday.

News of the killing of Naikoo led to some incidents of people pelting stones at security forces. However, the situation was handled with care, the senior officer said.

Riyaz Naikoo carried a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head before being killed on Wednesday. Naikoo became the de facto chief of Hizbul Mujahideen after the death of Mohammad Yasin Itoo, who had taken the reins of the outfit after Burhan Wani’s death in July 2016.

While Burhan Wani was known as the poster boy of the militancy in the Kashmir Valley, Riyaz Naikoo was always seen as a more effective commander in recruiting youngsters. Mohammad Yasin Itoo was killed a few months after Burhan Wani.