Srinagar: A spontaneous shutdown is being observed in Shopian district of southern Kashmir on Tuesday after reports said that one of the slain militants in Bandipora gunfight was the resident of the district.

Eyewitnesses said that all the business establishments and other commercial establishments shut while traffic also went off the roads as soon as the news spread.

Sources in Shopian said that a family from Keller area of the district has claimed one of the slain five militants Muhammad Umar as their kin.

Local sources in Bandipora also confirmed that a family from Shopian reached Bandipora to demand the body of the slain.

“Farooq Bajran the brother of the slain militant Farooq Bajran alias Umar said that Farooq had crossed LoC in 2014. The family has identified their slain brother from the photographs,” they said

A family from Kulgam has also reached Bandipora claiming Abu Haider as their kin. “Mashooq Ahmad, the elder brother of Bilal Ahmad alias Abu Haider said that he had crossed over the line of control in 2003,” the sources said.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner has directed both the families to SSP Bandipora.

Bilal, Umar, and three other militants were killed in a gunfight with government forces on Saturday.

The gunfight that began late Friday continued for two days. On the first day, two militants were killed. Three more militants were killed the next day. Police said that the militants were foreigners and were buried in Gantmulla, Baramulla.

However, on Monday, militant outfit Hizb ul-Mujahideen issued a statement and claimed that the militants killed in Bandipora gunfight were locals.

Hizb spokesperson Burhanuddin told a local news gathering agency that those killed in the gunfight were locals. “It was a group comprising five members who got trapped in Sumlar area and were killed in a long gunfight,” Burhanuddin said.

He identified them as Hyder Ali from Brazul Kulgam, Muhammad Umar from Shopian, Muhammad Sidiq from Bandipora, Mawiya from Kangan and Usman from Lolab.