Raj Kumar, Rajni Bala's husband (extreme right), with relatives. (News18)
Bala, 36, was gunned down on May 31 outside her school in Gopalpura area of Kulgam district. Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit government employee, was gunned down by terrorists inside his tehsil office in Chadoora town of Budgam district on May 13
Days after their loved ones were killed by terrorists, two grieving families of Jammu and Kashmir have only one demand – justice.
“By killing my wife, they killed a mother, a daughter and ruined my whole family,” said Raj Kumar, husband of teacher Rajni Bala killed in Kashmir, looking at his daughter with teary eyes, falling short of words.
Bala, 36, was gunned down by terrorists on May 31 outside her school in Gopalpura area of Kulgam district after her husband dropped her.
Almost 60 kilometres away from Bala’s house, family of Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat, is still looking for answers. Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit government employee, was gunned down by terrorists inside his tehsil office in Chadoora town of Budgam district on May 13. He had got the job as a clerk under the special employment package for migrants. He was staying at a migrant colony in the Sheikhpura area in Budgam district.
His father Bittaji Bhat feels that an insider helped the terrorists kill Bhat, as it was a well-protected area.
‘SOUGHT TRANSFER, GOT THREAT’
For Kumar, Kashmir was his favourite place, but now neither he nor anyone from his family wants to go back. He has sought a transfer and has asked Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to consider his few demands.
“Kashmir is a completely different place for us now. Rajni Bala and I shifted to Kashmir in 2009. We saw protests and encounters, in fact, we used to pass by protesters, but never had any fear of getting harmed. There was a time when people used to guide us on different routes to reach to school, so that we could save a few minutes and reach in time,” Kumar told News18.
Kumar is upset with the government as Bala was trying to get a transfer, but district officials told both of them that they could be transferred deep inside if they keep requesting a transfer outside Kashmir. He claimed that officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government didn’t pay any heed to the tense situation and just shooed them away.
“We went to Kashmir in 2009, when we both got government school jobs. Till 2017, we were getting postings in same schools. But after that, we were transferred to different schools. Recently, after hearing about the killings, we went to meet the chief education officer, seeking a transfer to a safer place, but the officer didn’t take any action. We went to meet the officer again after a week, and instead of looking into our request, we rather got a threat that we could be thrown deep inside the district,” Kumar said.
“We came back, but Rajni kept telling me that something may happen with her someday. She had a fear which was bothering her. She felt uncomfortable about her movement from home to school,” he said.
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Kumar further said that nothing concrete has been done about the demands he made to the LG during his visit. He is still waiting to get transferred and until then has decided not to go to Kashmir.
Kumar said that J&K must have an elected government so that the grievances can be heard in time and suitable action can be taken without any delay to prevent such incidents in the future.
“The officers who failed to understand our situation and were lax towards our requests have not been punished even after Rajni’s death. J&K deserves a stable and elected government and elections should be held as soon as possible,” Kumar said.
“We have no demands, we just want justice, pressure on militancy and talks.”
‘INSIDER HAND’
Bittaji Bhat, on the other hand, is still trying to piece together the day his son was killed.
“It’s been a month now, but we are waiting for justice. It was a well-protected tehsil office. Two magistrates were sitting there and almost 25 people were inside the office when Rahul was attacked. It is not possible that a terrorist randomly killed Rahul. There is a clear involvement of an insider, only someone from his office was aware that he was a Kashmiri Pandit. We have no other demand, we want justice – punish all those who killed him and helped in it,” Bittaji Bhat told News 18.
ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit Shot Dead by Terrorists At His Office in J&K’s Budgam; Victim’s Family Demands Probe
When asked about the situation in Kashmir, he said, “It is bad. I don’t want anyone to face what we are facing. There are close to three-four lakh people like us and 5,000 kids in Kashmir. It is important for the government to curb militancy in the Valley. They are openly attacking a community. Pressure on militancy and talks are the only solutions. Back-door channel should also be initiated simultaneously.”
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