The targeted killing of yet another Kashmiri Pandit in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district triggered a fresh round of protests in the Valley on Monday as political parties hit out at the government for claiming normalcy has returned to the region, and members of the community demanded the removal of Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha.
Hundreds of Kashmiris turned out for the last rites of Sanjay Sharma, a Kashmiri Pandit and resident of Achan in Pulwama, who was fired upon by terrorists when he was on his way to a local market on Sunday. The 45-year-old, who worked as a bank security guard, succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
Several local residents helped Sharma’s family with the last rites. Security was also tightened and several top police officers, including Vijay Kumar, additional director general of police (Kashmir Zone), visited and reviewed the prevailing law and order situation in the area.
“I do not want to stay here. I fear that they will kill me, too, tomorrow. Then where will my three young children go? Who is going to take care of us now?,” Sharma’s wife Sunita said.
The Sharmas chose to stay back in the Valley and did not leave with the majority of Kashmiri Pandits that did so in 1990, following calls for their extermination by Pakistan-backed insurgents. The killing, the first of a Pandit since October 2022, takes the number of people from the community that have been killed since last year to five. In addition, eight migrant workers have been killed. All the killings have been carried out by terror groups.
The Dogra Front – a Jammu-based organisation comprising social, religious and political groups fighting for the rights of the Dogras – held a protest in Pulwama, demanding justice and strict action against the perpetrators.
“We’re protesting and demanding strict action against the culprits involved in the murder of Pandit Sanjay Sharma. We request the L-G to arrest the accused,” a local resident said, seeking anonymity.
Another resident, who also did not wish to be named, said: “We’ve always lived in unity in Jammu and Kashmir and today we protest against the killing of Sanjay Sharma. No matter what the religion or caste of the people being killed is, justice must be served.”
The Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), a prominent Pandits’ body in the Valley, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to replace L-G Sinha.
“KPSS most humbly with folded hands request Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Home Minister to rest their personal agendas and self-conceit and take the issue seriously and replace the current Lt. Governor immediately for letting the Kashmiri Pandits to be killed by the militants for some vested agenda and vendetta to malign the ruling political party at the national and international level,” it said in a statement.
It also said that direction should be issued “to initiate brutal operation against the militants and their aides to safeguard the lives of the innocents Kashmiri Pandits and other religious minorities living in Kashmir Valley.”
The government should “stop experimenting with the situation in Kashmir and endangering the lives of Kashmiri Pandits and other religious minorities living” in the Valley, it said.
While the L-G’s media advisor, Yatish Yadav, did not respond to HT’s calls and messages on the matter, Sinha vowed to punish the perpetrators behind Sharma’s killing.
“It is an extremely unfortunate incident. No words are enough to condemn the killing. Whoever has carried out the act, our security forces will take care of them,” he told reporters.
He said while such incidents can create doubts in the minds of the people about the security scenario, the administration and security forces were working “with a 360 degree approach”.
Political parties slammed the administration over the killing.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti hit out at the government for claiming that normalcy has been restored in the Union territory.
“The government claims to have ended militancy. If that were the case, who killed him (Sharma)? What is the government doing?” she said after visiting Sharma’s residence.
“The government should provide a job to his widow. Many members of the community are working here, they should be given proper security, otherwise they will flee this place,” she added.
The BJP also condemned the killing and held protests in Srinagar and north Kashmir’s Baramulla town.
J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina visited the deceased’s house along with party leaders Sofi Yousuf and Altaf Thakur and assured the family of assistance from the administration. “His (Sharma’s) killing is brutal and a big sin that needs to be condemned,” he said.
In December, the home ministry told Parliament that nine Kashmiri Pandits have been killed in the Valley since 2020 – one in 2020 and four each in 2021 and 2022 – in targeted attacks.
Nearly 4,000 Kashmiri Pandits are employed in different government departments in the Valley after their selection under the Prime Minister’s employment package, according to the local administrations. In view of the targeted killings, in November, the employees staged a protest outside the Jammu relief commissioner’s office for several days, seeking their relocation out of the Valley.
(With agency inputs)