Targeted terror
Militants target Pandits and non-locals in a bid to create chaos in Kashmir, and the security administration struggles to deal with the
situation amid the changing contours of militancy.
A SPATE of killings rocked Kashmir in recent weeks, with terrorists waging a targeted and relentless attack on Kashmiri Pandits and some non-locals, marking a retreat to the ignominious days of 1990 when the Hindu community in the Valley fled to the safe haven of Jammu.
Since May 1, nine civilians have been killed in broad daylight, leaving a trail of grisly images and videos online that prompted shocked members of the Pandit community to demand immediate relocation to Jammu. Even as they protested on the streets, raucous and often communally provocative debates on primetime television threatened to prevent a return to peace.
The worsening situation also showcases the Central government’s failures and underscores the fact that despite its many proclamations of victory, militancy festers in the Valley.
RELENTLESS ATTACKS
The latest to be felled by terrorists was Dilkhush of Bihar, a brick kiln labourer in Budgam, on June 2. The same day, Vijaya Kumar, a bank manager who is a native of Rajasthan, was shot dead in Kulgam. Only two days earlier, on May 31, terrorists had sprayed bullets on Rajni
Bala, a history teacher, as she was about to enter her school’s premises in Kulgam.
On May 12, gunmen killed Rahul Bhat at the tehsil office in Chadoora town, where he was employed as a clerk, sparking an explosion of rage and protests by Hindus living in Kashmir.
Few would have imagined that more fatalities would follow in quick succession. A person hailing from Jammu was killed on May 17 in Baramulla after terrorists threw a grenade in a liquor shop; on May 25, Amreen Bhat, a television artist was fatally shot outside her home in Hushroo, Chadoora.