Kashmir: Suspected militants claim another life

On April 13, suspected militants shot dead another man hailing from the minority Hindu community in Kashmir. The man has been identified as Satesh Kumar Singh who was shot at outside his home in Kakran village and succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

The killing of Singh who hailed from the Rajput community and worked as a driver has sent fresh shockwaves across the Valley. Similar attacks that have claimed lives of Kashmiri Hindus and migrant workers alike. On March 19, suspected militants shot at Mohammed Akram, a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh. Two days later, Biswajit Kumar, a migrant labourer from bihar was shot at. On Sunday April 3, a driver and a conductor from Pathankot were shot at in Litter village in Nowpora. A day later, a CRPF jawan was shot dead and another injured in Srinagar. On the same day, two migrant workers from Bihar injured in a similar attack in Pulwama. A Kashmiri Hindu named Bal Krishnan of Chotigam village who ran a pharmacy was also shot at in Shopian. On April 7, Sonu Sharma, a labourer rom Pathankot was was attacked in Yader village in Pulwama.    

Previously, in October 2021, militants had shot dead a well-known businessman, Makan Lal Bindroo at his shop in the high-security zone of the Iqbal Park area of Srinagar. Makhan Lal Bindroo had been settled here since 1947. Other victims of violence at this time included a street food vendor named Virendra Pasan, and Mohammed Shafi Lone, a resident of Naidkhai village, who headed Sumo Car Stand, an association of taxi owners in Shahgund village in Bandipora. Then school principal Deepak Chand and a female teacher Supinder (Satinder) Kour were killed in Safa Kadal area of Srinagar.

Sanjay Tickoo, President of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, a group devoted to upholding and defending the rights of non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit families has been repeatedly raising concerns about the safety of the Hindu minority in the union territory. When the Kashmiri Pandit exodus took place, 808 families stayed behind, and even today, continue to live in refugee camps in the Valley. It is noteworthy that though security had been provided previously, it was withdrawn in 2016, leaving the minority Kashmiri Hindu non-migrant families vulnerable!  

Now, after the release of the controversial movie The Kashmir Files Tickoo has once again raised concerns about the community’s safety. Tickoo had previously told SabrangIndia that The Kashmir Files had made “resident Kashmiri Pandits unsafe.” KPSS is a partner organisation of CJP, and it has been closely observing the hate generated online and offline soon after the movie was released. In fact, CJP had also pointed out the possible impact of a movie like this, especially given how different senior members of the government had been promoting it, despite there being some distortion of facts under the guise of artistic license. We had invited all Indians to join us as we petitioned all Chief Ministers, top police officials and administrators of all Union Territories to step in and put an end to the prevalent culture of hate, in order to prevent blood from being spilled on the streets. We had also appealed for the setting up of Mohalla Committees, or groups of local residents in each neighbourhood that will interact with the local administration during a crisis situation and prevent an escalation of violence, as well as protect vulnerable minorities. You too can sign the petition here.

In related news, on April 13, Vivek Agnihotri, the filmmaker who made the movie tweeted an image of a letter purportedly by a terror group names Lashker-e-Islam that threatened Kashmiri Pandits with dire consequences if they did not leave the Valley or convert to Islam. However, the letter, written in English and not Urdu, was neither signed, nor dated and just said it was by the Commander of the group. While the has not been authenticated yet, it has been shared on social media and messaging platforms thousands of times, adding to panic among the minority Hindu community in Kashmir. Meanwhile, the said group is said to have originated in the Khyber Agency and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. It was banned by Pakistan in 2008 and has since merged with the Tehrik-e-Taliban in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Indian Express reported that migrant workers were considering leaving Pulwama in wake of these attacks. “We will die either way. If I don’t work here, what do I feed my family back home? I am just taking precautions and hope nothing happens,” a migrant worker told the publication. This could have a huge impact on the region’s economy as this is the time when tens of thousands of migrant workers flock to the region. This year the numbers that have already been less than half of the usual, are beginning to dwindle further.

Related:

This is what we feared: Sanjay Tickoo on the rising attacks in Kashmir since March

The Kashmir Files: Calls for Muslim genocide ring out in cinema halls, hate brews outside

The Kashmir Files making resident Kashmiri Pandits feel unsafe