Kashmiri Pandits in Srinagar continued their protests on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in the wake of the killing of government employee Rahul Bhat, who was shot dead by terrorists inside his office in central Kashmir's Budgam district on May 12.
A large number of people assembled at their home in Chadbugh locality and bid a tearful adieu to the brothers.
Political parties condemned the "dastardly" attack and said there can be no justification for targeting innocents.
An unidentified terrorist was killed on Tuesday in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag while three alleged "hybrid" militants of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba were arrested during an anti-militancy operation in Srinagar and Budgam districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah showed his cricketing skills as he played the game with the locals of Brenwar, a remote village in Budgam district, where he was "grounded" due to bad weather.
The BSF opened fire in Pakharpora near Charar-e-Sharif area to quell stone-pelting protesters in which at least one person was killed and five injured.
A government employee belonging to the Kashmir Pandit community was shot dead by suspected militants at his office in the Chadoora area of Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said in Srinagar.
The SPO-turned-militant had decamped with two AK-47 rifles along with one Jahangir, who has already been arrested.
This was the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the EC said in a statement.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 42nd day in the Valley which has been rocked by violence after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
The previous highest voter turnout in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency was witnessed in 1984 at 58.90 percent.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
Three persons, including two army jawans, were injured after one army unit fired at another unit mistaking them for militants in central Kashmir's Budgam district, official sources said.
Umer Khalid was a A++ category top ranking terrorist and carried a cash reward of nearly Rs 7 lakh.
Kashmiri Pandit employees on Monday threatened to appeal to international human rights organisations for asylum if the central government failed to relocate them from the Valley in the wake of attacks on minorities.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
Dar, posted in Budgam district, was undergoing training in Kathua district in Jammu region of the state.
'The government of India must deliberate, for how long the police personnel will be sacrificed in such a manner. This is a big issue which must be resolved for the sake of the people of Jammu and Kashmir'
The terrorists fired at two non-local labourers at a brick kiln at Magraypora in Chadoora area of the central Kashmir district, the officials said.
The daring militant attack on an Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir last Friday shook the people of Uri town, situated close to Line of Control in Kashmir, but it did not deter them from exercising their franchise as voters thronged the polling station on Tuesday morning.
Curfew remained in force in Srinagar district, Anantnag town and Magam area of Budgam district as a precautionary measure even as normal life was paralysed for the 40th consecutive day on Wednesday in Kashmir where 63 persons have been killed in the ongoing unrest.
They also demanded immediate release of their pending salaries in view of the 'Maha Shivratri' festival, being observed later this week.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
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, they said.
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
Raising slogans against Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and the administration, the demonstrators, mostly government employees posted in the troubled valley and their kin, demanded that they be provided adequate security or be transferred to Jammu. The employees also threatened en masse resignation from their jobs.
A group of Kashmiri Pandit employees, who were given jobs under a prime minister's package for the community, on Wednesday began preparations for "mass migration" out of Kashmir, protesting against a series of targeted killings of non-Muslim employees by terrorists.
Shouting slogans against district administration, the protestors raised slogans like "we want justice".
Two explosions during and before ruling National Conference poll rallies in Srinagar and central Kashmir's Budgam districts left 13 persons injured on Sunday.
A self-styled battalion commander of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was on Friday killed in an operation jointly carried out by Army and police at Goos on the border of Pulwama-Budgam district.
Security personnel deployed at Jehangir Chowk were the apparent target of the grenade attack.
Social activist Amit Koul, who was part of the delegation, said they have invited Gandhi to their Jagti township along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and that he is likely to visit the community on his way to Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday arrested a Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative in Budgam district of central Kashmir, a police spokesman said.
One of the four Sikh women alleged to have been converted to Islam by force had approached the Jammu and Kashmir high court seeking protection from any coercive action by her family and the police, saying she changed her religion and married a Muslim man willingly.
The raids in the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu along with Budgam in central and Kulgam and Anantnag in south Kashmir led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices connected with the activities of JeI and its related Trusts and more than Rs 20 lakh, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.
The community members, including Rahul Bhat's family, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre of making young Kashmiri Hindus 'cannon fodder' in the name of rehabilitation of the community.
Rajni Bala (36) of Samba in Jammu region sustained injuries when terrorists fired at her in Gopalpora area of Kulgam where she was posted as a teacher
Six civilians and a paramilitary, central reserve police force (CRPF) trooper were wounded in a grenade explosion in the Magam chowk, 33 km from Srinagar in central Kashmir Budgam district this afternoon.
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