Shareefabad (Tral), July 6: A shrine here to revered Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani has long drawn devotees from neighbouring villages but a grave few blocks away has been attracting larger throngs from far and wide over the past year.

It is the grave of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy killed in a gun battle with security forces and whose first death anniversary falls on July 8. The death of the 22-year-old had triggered an unprecedented five-month unrest that left nearly 100 civilians dead and thousands injured in alleged firing by security forces, with the Valley still reeling from its aftershocks.

"There isn't a day when people don't visit his grave. We have three shrines in our village, including that of Shah Hamdan (Hamdani) but far more people visit the grave of Burhan Sahib," said a septuagenarian whose son works in the army.

The grave seems no less than a shrine for the visitors and if it has not become one, it is because shrines are forbidden under the puritanical tenets of Islam being followed of late by many in Kashmir.

Burhan's father Muzaffar Wani said, however, that there was no proposal ever to turn the grave into a shrine. "I will never allow a shrine there. There are 43 Mujahideen (militants) buried in the graveyard where my son is buried and he was no different from them. I will never allow a bigger grave for him," the school principal told The Telegraph at home.

Not everyone agrees. "It is already a shrine for us. (Some) people take dust from his grave to sprinkle it on their farms and their produce increases. Even I have some soil from his grave in my pocket," Ghulam Nabi Mir, a farmer, chipped in.

Muzaffar Wani said thousands, mostly strangers, came to see Burhan's grave and his house over the past year. "I can recall barely a day or two when no visitor came home. Many go to his grave and don't come home, perhaps, to spare me inconvenience. Guests who come to any house in Tral do not go back without visiting his grave."

"They are coming not just from Kashmir but from places like Mumbai and Delhi," Muzaffar Wani, in his late fifties, said, adding that many of the visitors from outside Kashmir were tourists who possibly came out of curiosity.

A youth recalled an instance of a baraat (wedding party) from Srinagar that headed straight to the grave before visiting the bride's home. "They (the guests) spent some time at the grave and were seen praying for him (Burhan)."

Burhan is a household name in Kashmir and even now, almost a year after his death, graffiti praising him still dots the Valley's landscape. But ahead of his death anniversary on Saturday, Tral, around 40km from Srinagar, and the rest of Kashmir are bracing for a showdown between pro-azadi protesters and security forces. A rally and a march to his graveyard and home are planned.

The forces, on their part, seem to be moving to foil the protests and intend to impose tough movement restrictions to prevent trouble. "If they impose curfew, there are bound to be clashes," a youth said.

In villages across Tral, dozens of bikes have been seized to prevent motorcycle rallies. Outside the graveyard, army jawans were seen frisking vehicles and keeping watch on those entering the compound, fuelling suspicion among locals about attempts to deter gatherings ahead of the anniversary.

Muzaffar Wani was summoned by police last week to "gauge his mood". He said today he did not want any confrontation but insisted that the best way to avoid it was to allow peaceful gatherings. "If they (forces) had allowed gatherings and marches after Burhan's death, people would have come to this place and returned peacefully. I think after a week or so, the situation would have become normal. But that did not happen. They unleashed bullets and pellets, killing and maiming hundreds. I am sure if they allow peaceful gatherings (this time), people will come here and return peacefully," Muzaffar Wani said.

The forces offered another account of last year's events, claiming protesters had attacked their camps following Burhan's death, prompting them to fire. "We don't want that to happen again," a police officer said.