Kulgam: As attacks on minority communities in Kashmir escalated, Kashmiri Pandit and Sikh families have started leaving the Valley.
Most of these people are government employees appointed under a special package under the Narendra Modi government’s rehabilitation scheme for Kashmiri Pandits and Sikh communities, and they live in various colonies specially created for them in parts of Kashmir.
These colonies are located in Srinagar, Budgam, Kulgam, Anantnag, Baramulla, Kupwara and Ganderbal.
Most of these employees and their families are now returning to places like Jammu.
The Kashmiri migrant transit colony at Vesu in Kulgam, which was home to over 1,000 people till a few days ago, now looks deserted.
‘Some people don’t want Kashmiri Pandits to go back to the Valley’
Khushi Pandita, a resident of the same colony, who returned to the valley under the rehabilitation plan, went back to Jammu with her family on Monday. While leaving, she told ABP News that she said that she was scared by the way people were murdered in the last few days.
Khushi said that she will not return until the environment becomes safe for them.
Another resident of the colony, Vijay Raina, said he believed it was the “grievance portal” recently launched by the government for Kashmiri Pandits that invited trouble for the community.
The portal aims to help Kashmiri Pandits get back the properties they had to give up and migrate decades ago.
According to Raina, the attacks on Kashmiri Pandits started because ‘some people in Kashmir do not want Kashmiri Pandits to come back’.
However, the Jammu and Kashmir Police is yet to say what led to the attacks on the minorities, even blaming The Resistance Front (TRF) for the killings and an operation to nab its members. started.
The past week saw a series of targeted killings of civilians in Kashmir.
A Sikh principal and a Hindu teacher were shot dead inside their school near the capital Srinagar on Thursday. According to reports, Supinder Kaur and Deepak Chand were isolated and then shot dead after the attackers checked their identity cards.
On Tuesday, a Hindu was found murdered at the shop of Makhan Lal Bindru, a prominent pharmacist in Srinagar.
A total of seven civilians, including a Muslim taxi driver, have been killed in recent attacks.
In a statement following the killings, Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar appealed to the public, especially from minority communities, to “not panic”.
They have raided the valley and detained hundreds of people.
Meanwhile, five Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, were killed in an encounter with terrorists during an anti-insurgency operation in Poonch district.
The operation started in a village near DKG in Surankot in the early hours after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists, PTI reported.
No need to panic: Kupwara DC, SSP
At a press conference on Monday, Kupwara Deputy Commissioner Imam Deen said that the security cover has been increased for minority communities in the district, adding that no element was allowed to damage the social fabric and communal harmony. Will go
Kupwara Senior Superintendent of Police Yugal Manhas was also present.
Condemning the recent killings, the DC said that he along with SSP Manhas interacted with the migrant community living in Pravasi Colony and other places and listened to their complaints.
DC Imam Din said there was no need to panic, assuring all necessary assistance to the migrant community regarding their safety and security from the administration, police and public.
He said that a nodal officer has been designated to liaise with the migrant community for immediate redressal of their issues.
The SSP also assured full cooperation to the minorities and said that necessary security has been provided wherever necessary.
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