Thousands bid adieu to Panther's Party leader Bhim Singh in J-K

Founder of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party Bhim Singh was cremated at his ancestral village in Udhampur district of the Union Territory on Wednesday.

Singh (81) passed away in Jammu on Tuesday after being unwell for about a month.

Thousands of people, including several top political leaders, turned up at the venue of the cremation.

The veteran leader was cremated at his native Bhugterian village amid "Bhim Singh amar rahe" slogans.

Locals as well as people from other villages gathered to catch a last glimpse of the brave son of Ramnagar, who was known as the "panther of Jammu".

"He was a great leader who advocated the cause of the Jammu region for decades," former Jammu and Kashmir minister and chairman of the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Choudhary Lal Singh said.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, former minister Harsh Dev Singh, MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, former legislator Balwant Mankotia and DDC Chairperson Lal Chand were present at Singh's cremation.

Singh breathed his last at the GMC hospital in Jammu.

Singh, who hailed from Udhampur district's Bhugterian village, left behind his wife Jai Mala and son Ankit Love, who lives in London.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union minister Jitendra Singh, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader MY Tarigami and the heads of various political parties expressed condolences on the demise of Singh, who emerged as a major political force to reckon with in the Jammu region.

Singh held several key positions in the Congress earlier, from the president of the party's Jammu and Kashmir youth unit to its national general secretary, before launching the Panthers Party in October 1982.

He studied law in the University of London. He was the first Indian to be elected as the secretary of the University of London Union in 1971.

Singh, who contested the Lok Sabha election from Udhampur in 1988, was defeated by the Congress candidate. Alleging foul play, he went on a hunger strike against the Election Commission (EC).

On Singh's review petition against the EC's order, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court delivered the judgment in his favour four years later, but by then, the session of Parliament was already dissolved.

The Supreme Court had awarded a compensation of Rs 50,000 to Singh for his illegal imprisonment by the then state government that followed his suspension as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 1985.

In the 2002 Assembly polls, his Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party won four seats and became a coalition partner in the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government.

Singh had also provided legal aid to over 200 people from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, who were languishing in different jails across the country for decades. His help saw the release of most of these prisoners.

The veteran leader, who travelled to over 130 countries around the world on a motorcycle, was friends with people like Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.