New Delhi: Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat’s family has demanded an inquiry into his death by militant fire Thursday, while members of the community continue to protest on the streets urging enhanced security for themselves.
Bhat’s father said Friday that the militants had asked around who his son was, and then shot him. “We want an inquiry. There was a police station 100 feet away. They should check the CCTV footage. There was no security in the office either,” the father said.
Bhat was shot Thursday in his tehsil office in the Chadoora village, Budgam. He later died at a Srinagar hospital.
Bhat’s wife said her husband was confident that nobody would harm him. “He would say everyone behaved nicely with him. Yet nobody protected him. They (militants) must have asked someone about him. How would they have known who he was,” she asked.
On Friday morning, militants made another targeted killing – that of special police officer Riyaz Ahmed Thoker in Pulwama district’s Gudoora.
The Valley has been beset by killings of Kashmiri Pandits, migrants and government and political workers since last October.
Meanwhile, news agency ANI reported that the Union Territory administration has terminated the services of a professor, a teacher and a police constable over alleged terror links.
The three men are chemistry professor at Kashmir University Altaf Hussain Pandit; teacher in the School Education department Mohd Maqbool Hajam and police constable Ghulam Rasool.
Sources told ANI that teacher Mohm Maqbool Hajam was a ‘terror overground worker (OGW)’ who radicalised people. He participated in mob attacks on a police station and other government buildings.
Constable Ghulam Rasool acted as an informer and tipped off militants about anti-terror operations. He also told the militants who were the police officers involved in these operations.
Professor Altaf Hussain Pandit was associated with the Jamaat-e-Islam, ANI said, adding, he crossed over to Pakistan for terror training and worked as a recruiter. He headed violent protests against the killing of terrorists in 2011 and 2014.
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