Widespread anger and grief are seen among people in Jammu and Kashmir where a Kashmiri Pandit government employee was shot dead by two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists on 12 May. Father and wife of deceased Rahul Bhat allege conspiracy and collusion between co-workers and terrorists at Tehsildar’s office where he was shot dead.
Bitta Bhat, father of Rahul, said that terrorists entered the office and asked who Rahul Bhat is and then they shot him. “We want inquiry. There was a police station 100 feet away. There must’ve been security at office but nobody was there. They should check CCTV footage,” he told news agency ANI.
Bitta Bhat, who is a retired police officer, also said that if a person is shot inside his workplace then “nobody is safe Kashmir Valley”. He also demanded an inquiry to identify those involved in the “cold-blooded murder”.
A report by The Wire mentioned Bitta Bhat saying, “When such a thing has happened it is a glaring example of the government’s failure… to provide security to them (Kashmiri Pandits working in the valley).”
Wife of Rahul, Meenakshi Bhat said that he used to say everyone in the government office behaved nicely with him and nobody could harm him. “Yet nobody protected him, they (terrorists) must have asked someone about him, otherwise, how would they’ve known,” she was quoted as saying by ANI.
Also Read: Jammu and Kashmir: Kashmiri Pandit employee shot dead by terrorists in Budgam
India Today report, however, quoted Meenakshi Bhat saying that Rahul felt “insecure” working in Chadoora. She said that her husband had requested the local administration to transfer him to the district headquarters but no step was taken.
She even said that she suspects “some people wihin Rahul Bhat’s office conspired with terrorists.”
On Thursday, Rahul Bhat, posted in the Tehsil office in Chadoora under a special employment package for Kashmiri Pandit migrants, was working in his office when two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists entered a crowded government building in Budgam district in central Kashmir and shot him dead. The targeted killing drew strong condemnation from political parties and employees’ association.
Later, Kashmir Tigers claimed responsibility for the killing.
Rahul was rushed to the premier SMHS Hospital in Srinagar but succumbed to his injuries soon after.
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The terrorists, belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit, entered the Tehsil office around 4.30 pm when it was full of employees and people, and shot at Rahul Bhat.
Rahul Bhat lived in a migrant colony at Sheikhpura in Budgam district and had worked for around eight years. He is survived by wife, five-year-old daughter and parents.
Rahul Bhat is the second Kashmiri Pandit to have been killed by terrorists in the last seven months. A prominent member of the Kashmiri Pandit community, chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo, was shot dead by terrorist on 6 October, 2021.
On Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police resorted to baton charge and firing of tear gas shells to disperse Kashmiri Pandit community members marching towards Srinagar airport to protest the killing of Rahut Bhat by terrorists.
The protesters first assembled at the Sheikhpora area of Budgam district, in central Kashmir, and then tried to proceed towards the airport but were stopped by a posse of police personnel, news agency PTI mentioned officials saying.
The protesters were requested to disperse but they refused to budge and insisted on marching ahead, following which the police used batons and fired some tear smoke shells.
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