Kashmiri Pandits protest killing of Rahul Bhat at govt office, demand transfer out of Kashmir

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar May 13

The killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, an ethnic minority in Kashmir, inside a secured revenue office in broad daylight has triggered protests and raised questions about the security of the minority community in the Valley.

Before leaving for the office on Thursday morning, Rahul Bhat, 32, greeted his neighbours on the premises of their transit camp at Sheikpora in Budgam.

Bhat was killed after two pistol-borne militants barged inside his office at Chadoora in Budgam district and fired at him from point-blank range. He received five bullets and died on way to the hospital on Thursday.

“Rahul greeted us and told us we will meet again in the evening. He boarded his vehicle and left for the office,” Ashwini Sadhu, the next-door neighbour of Bhat, told The Tribune.

At 4:11 pm, Sadhu, a junior engineer appointed under Prime Minister’s package for migrants, received a call from a friend that Bhat has been killed by militants inside his office at Chadoora Budgam.

“Until I reached the hospital in Srinagar, Rahul was dead,” the 42-year-old Sadhu said in a heavy voice. “I am terrified by his killing. It can happen with any one of us,” he said.

Sadhu holding a placard, reading justice for Rahul, was protesting overnight along with dozens of other Kashmiri Pandits on the Srinagar-Budgam highway.

“And today I am seeking punishment for his killers. Rahul was killed because he was a Kashmiri Pandit. He was killed for his identity,” Sadhu said.

Sadhu says if Kashmiri Pandits are not safe inside government offices, how they can be safe in the field.

“I roam around in the field because of my job. There are teachers and students among us. How are they safe when Rahul was killed inside a secure Tehsil office,” Sadhu said.

Sadhu says they are collecting resignation letters from migrant employees to be submitted to the government if they were not transferred to Jammu or other parts of India.

The protesting Kashmiri Pandits are questioning the government if the graph of militants is going down, why is the graph of targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits going up?

“It is clear the J&K Administration is lying about the situation in Kashmir. It is not safe for anyone here,” said Vikas Hangloo, another protesting Kashmiri Pandit.

Kashmiri Pandit employees are demanding revocation of the “unconstitutional bond” which they have been “forced to sign” at the time of appointment to serve in Kashmir.

“We are being exploited by the J&K Administration. They are using us as scapegoats,” Hangloo said.

The targeted killings started in October, the victims being mostly migrants from outside Jammu and Kashmir who came in search of jobs and indigenous Kashmiri Pandits.

At least 10 civilians from minority communities have been killed in targeted attacks by the terrorists in Kashmir since then.

The targeted killings have shaken the confidence of the Kashmiri Pandit migrant employees, leaving them worried about their life.

Police resorted to baton charges and fired tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters to prevent them from marching toward Srinagar airport. All the roads connecting Budgam with Srinagar were barricaded with concertina wires.

Similar protests were reported from the south and north Kashmir, where the Muslims joined them to seek justice for the slain Bhat.

Later in the day, the protesters were persuaded by police to move to their colony, where they have been waiting for Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to provide the assurance of security and transfer out of Kashmir.

In 2009, the Government of India under the then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s leadership released the Prime Minister’s package for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants in the Kashmir valley. On December 1, 2020, the government of India issued an advertisement for filling up 1997 posts opening the advertisement for Kashmiri Pandits who had not migrated. They were, however, required to produce certificates by the Deputy Commissioner concerned to certify they had not migrated and were, accordingly, not registered with the Commissioner (Relief).

The Pandit leader says there are around 5,000 employees under the Prime Minister’s package since 2010 working in different parts of the Valley. He says there are also 4,000 other regular Kashmiri Pandit employees working at different places. There are also those Pandits who didn’t migrate from the Valley.

The protesters at Sheikhpora were not allowed by the police to move in any direction. The police also blocked all roads leading protest area. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who wanted to visit Kashmiri Pandits, was not allowed and was put under house arrest.

Meanwhile, the J&K Administration will provide a government job to Rahul Bhat’s wife in Jammu and financial assistance to the family. The government will also bear the educational expenses of the daughter.

A decision has been taken to constitute a special investigative team to probe all the aspects of the despicable militant attack. The SHO of the police station concerned has also been attached.