Early Times Report
Srinagar, Oct 29: Twenty-four Kashmiri Pandits were killed by terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in Nadimarg village near Shopian in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on March 23, 2003.
Terrorists of LeT entered the village wearing military fatigues and lined up villagers before shooting them dead. The first terrorists disarmed the police personnel deployed to guard the Kashmir Pandits. Terrorists first snatched the policemen's weapons and later fired indiscriminately on the Kashmiri Pandits.
The victims, 11 men, 11 women, and 2 small children, ranged from a 65-year-old to 2-year-old. The policemen posted there fled the scene. The killers disfigured the bodies of the victims, looted their houses, and took away the ornaments from the bodies of the dead women.
Following the massacre, an FIR was filed in Zainapore, and seven accused people were brought before the Court of Principal Sessions Judge, Pulwama, following an inquiry. The case was later transferred to the Shopian Court of Principal Sessions Judge.
The main accused Zia Mustafa, a Lashkar-e-Toiba self-styled commander, was killed by armed forces in October 2021. Seven persons including cops facing charges of dereliction of duty are accused in the case. |
