J&K: SIT to probe Kashmiri Pandit's killing, says LG
Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha termed Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat's recent killing in Budgam district as "premeditated." He stated a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would probe the incident, adding it will also investigate the alleged use of coercion to disperse Kashmiri migrant protesters. He noted the police gunned down two foreign terrorists involved in Bhat's murder in an encounter last week.
- Kashmiri Pandits have been the target of militancy over the last three decades. Bhat's killing was the third attack against the community this year.
- In April, militants shot and injured Bal Krishan Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit, inside his medical shop in J&K's Kulgam.
- Seven people died in October 2021, too, when militants carried out a number of attacks on Kashmiri Pandits and migrant workers.
Sinha's statement came after meetings with a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation and the Gupkar Alliance. He also called for an investigation into the alleged tear gas shelling on protesting Kashmiri Pandits. Officials behind the action will reportedly face action. Meanwhile, Ravinder Raina, state BJP president, stated, "Bhat's assassination desecrated humanity and embarrassed the entire society." Raina also claimed Pakistani-backed terrorists murdered Bhat "brutally."
As per reports, terrorists opened fire at Bhat, an employee of the revenue department in J&K's Budgam district, on Thursday afternoon. The incident happened at the Tehsildar office in Chadoora. Bhat sustained serious injuries in the incident. He was reportedly rushed to a hospital in Srinagar, where he was declared dead.
Questioning the safety of Kashmiri Pandits, the victim's father, Bitta Ji Bhat, a retired assistant police sub-inspector based in Jammu, asked, "Is this how the government will take us back home to the Valley?" "The government has totally failed to protect Kashmiri Pandits," he added.
The police said two militants shot Bhat at point-blank with a pistol. Both militants have been neutralized, they added. Following the attack last week, a joint team of J&K Police, Army, and paramilitary forces had cordoned off the area and a search operation was launched. According to a report by India Today, a little-known terror group Kashmir Tigers claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, all major political parties in J&K strongly condemned the killing. J&K PDP chief and former CM, Mehbooba Mufti, said, "It (the attack) exposes the false claims of normalcy in Kashmir." J&K National Conference leader and ex-chief minister Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter to attack the administration. The Gupkar Alliance also raised the issue of minority communities' security with LG Sinha on Sunday.
