Saqib Bilal, who had a brief role in the Bollywood film Haider, has been killed in an encounter in Mujgund, on the outskirts of Srinagar. On 9th December, Saqib and another boy from class 9 were killed after an 18-hour gun battle with security forces, as per a report in Hindustan Times. The two teenagers had left their homes in August and joined the militants immediately after they disappeared, the report stated.

Asim Aijaz, Bilal’s maternal uncle, spoke to HT and revealed that he was interested in acting. He also mentioned about his role in the Vishal Bhardwaj directorial.

Mr. Aijz said:

He was in his sixth class when he appeared for two brief shots in Haider, which have appeared in the film. In one of the shots he appeared as a ‘chocolate boy’ and in another, he acted of surviving a violent incident in a bus.