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| RIK rubbishes J&K Police report on Pandit killings | | | New Delhi | May 5
Contradicting the report published by J&K Police on Pandit killings appearing in a section of media, the Roots in Kashmir has described it a mere fabrication of the State Police. Apart from being factually incorrect, it raises a serious question mark on the efficiency of the Police Force itself, the RIK said
Contesting the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed in Kashmir since 1989, the RIK said that it would be pertinent to highlight the fact that except for one conviction all others responsible for killing of Pandits are roaming free. They have been freed on bail for want of credible proof as the State Police has failed or did not want to produce in the court of law. The terrorists who have been freed are notorious terrorists of yesteryears and known offenders like Yasin Malik, Javaid Mir, Bitta Karate and others. Among three of them alone they have killed more than 50 Kashmiri Pandits.
The Roots in Kashmir in a statement issued today said that when ND Wani the designated TADA judge released Bitta Karate, he had said that "The court is aware of the fact that the allegations leveled against the accused are of serious nature and carry a punishment of death sentence or life imprisonment but the fact is that the prosecution has shown total disinterest in arguing the case, which is in complete violation of Article 21 of the Constitution."
On one hand the government seems to woo Pandits back to the valley by luring them with financial sops while on the other hands cases like the Wandhama Massacre in which 24 Pandit men, women and even four children were killed by terrorists have been closed by the government citing un-traceability of the perpetrators of the crime, the statement said. What credibility does the report have one may ask? Who can believe a Police Force who for 18 years has not been able to even convict one terrorist? What report can an inept Police Force make asked Ashish Zutshi. It would be better if they learn to do what they are here to do, Aditya Raj Kaul said. We can only shame them and feel sorry that they are here to protect us. It has been complicit in crimes overtly or covertly by either committing them or covering them. In this case it is a clear case of them playing someone's game albeit un-successfully.
Panun Kashmir Movement's "Kashmir Documentation: Pandits in Exile" has a list of 319 Kashmiri Hindu's killed in the "period of 1989 to October. 1990". Along with the name of the person in almost all cases it mentions address of the victim, his/her profession and the date of killing. In a period of less than one year a community as small as Pandits lost 0.1% of its population, which forced them to flee. After October 1990 when less than ten thousand Pandits were left in the valley there have been seven massacres of Kashmiri Pandits in which 62 Pandits were killed, Kaul said..
He said there are, of-course, hundreds of Pandits who were killed in bomb blasts, cross-fire, acts of violence and arson of whom no one has any account. Needless to say, immediately after the forced exodus of Pandits in 1989-90; hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits got killed due to the after affects of the terrorism and migration to areas with immense heat; high temperature and no resources. Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits fell victims of sudden death due to hypertension, cancer, skin diseases, snake bites, scorpion bites. He said even if one goes by a layman's account of Pandits killed in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989 the number would be higher than 1000 but it isn't about mere numbers. What is sad is that in all but one case no one has been convicted of killing them? What is worse most of the dreaded terrorists like Yasin Malik are invited by the government to hold parleys with them for peace. It is cases like these which expose the government's will and the State apparatus's honesty towards Pandit return to the valley. It also raises a question mark on the judiciary and the human rights organizations, which were extremely pro-active in the case of Gujarat Riots but played a rather passive witness to the plight of Pandits and injustice that the State perpetrated on them.
Roots in Kashmir demands a CBI probe into the number of Kashmiri Pandits who were either killed by militants or due the affects of the militancy. It only brings to fore our demand for a commission which would look into the causes and effects of exodus of Pandits from the valley and the sooner it is done the better it is, Kaul added. |
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