Tearful adieu to principal, teacher shot dead by militants; protests in J&K over killings
A woman principal and a teacher who were shot dead inside their school in Srinagar were given a tearful adieu on Friday as protests erupted across J&K over the recent spate of killing of civilians while Opposition leaders alleged the “worsening” situation in the UT was due to the Centre’s “wrong measures”.
The last rites of Supinder Kaur, the slain principal of the government school in Eidgah were performed by the family and relatives at a cremation ground in Srinagar’s Karan Nagar area. Hundreds of Sikhs assembled at the residence of Kaur in Aloochi Bagh and took out a protest march, carrying her mortal remains on a stretcher.
The protesting members of the community — both old and young alike — covered the distance from Aloochi Bagh to Jehangir Chowk on foot, shouting slogans demanding justice for the victim shot dead by militants at the school along with her colleague Deepak Chand.
Chand was laid to rest at the Shaktinagar cremation ground in Jammu. A pall of gloom had descended as Chand’s mortal remains arrived from Srinagar at his Patoli home around midnight with hundreds of people waiting outside.
As the spate of targeted killings of minorities rocked Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandit organisation said some employees from the community, who were provided government jobs under a rehabilitation package in 2010-11, have started moving to Jammu quietly fearing for their life, alleging the administration was unable to provide then a secure environment.
The administration, meanwhile, has given a holiday of 10 days to employees from the minority community, official sources said.
“Around 500 people or more have started leaving from different areas like Budgam, Anantnag and Pulwama. There are some non-Kashmir pandit families who have also left. It is 1990 revisited,” said Sanjay Tiku, president of Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti .
“It may seem invisible but migration is going on and I was anticipating this. We had requested appointment from the Lt Governor's office in June, but have not been given time till now,” Tiku, who has never migrated out of the valley, said.
National Conference (NC)
The situation is worsening day by day and the BJP govt is responsible for it. Its wrong steps and measures taken since August 5, 2019, (abrogation of Article 370) and before that as well, are directly responsible for the fast worsening situation in Kashmir. —MEHBOOBA MUFTI
vice-president Omar Abdullah also visited the residence of Kaur and later said the recent attacks on civilians were aimed at creating a wedge between communities and it is the responsibility of the majority community to give a sense of security to “our brothers”.
He criticised the administration for failing to apprehend the attacks and appealed to members of the minority communities in Kashmir to not allow a repeat of what happened in the 1990s by leaving their homes.
Congress leader Priyanka Vadra condemned the killing of innocent people and said the Centre should take immediate steps for ensuring the safety of all citizens.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi urged the Centre to take effective measures to ensure the safety of the residents.
Besides the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Forum (JKPF), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena, and the Jagran Manch also held demonstrations against the incidents, while members of the Kashmiri Pandit community protested in Purkhoo, Butanagar and Muthi.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the PAGD was convened on Friday at the residence of its chairman Farooq Abdullah to take stock of the current situation prevailing in J&K, PAGD spokesman MY Tarigami said.