News Analysis India

Tag: Puran Krishan Bhat

  • Emotional scenes at cremation of slain Kashmiri pandit in Jammu

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Emotions ran high as the mortal remains of a slain Kashmiri pandit were consigned to flames here on Sunday with the grief-stricken community expressing anger against the alleged failure of the government to stop selective killings by terrorists in the Valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    The body of the deceased was received by the wailing relatives at his Muthi residence in Jammu late Saturday night.

    Amid chants of high-pitch sloganeering against Pakistan, thousands of mourners joined Bhat’s two children — Shriya (daughter) and Shanu (son) — and other relatives at the Ban Talab crematory Sunday to bid a tearful adieu to him.

    They also demanded adequate compensation to the family, including Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia and a government job for the wife of the deceased, besides immediate relocation of Hindu employees outside the valley till the security situation becomes normal.

    As the body reached the cremation ground, several of Bhat’s relatives broke down. Shriya was seen kissing the body profusely to say goodbye to her father with her younger brother, a Class 5 student, staring at the corpse.

    The mourners also raised slogans against the administration for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings in the valley, soon after Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior police and civil officers, reached the cremation ground.

    “It is very unfortunate that one more Kashmiri pandit fell to the bullets of terrorists, exposing the false claims of the government about improvement in the security situation.

    ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit gunned down by militants in Valley, third in last five months

    He is the 18th minority community member shot dead over the past two years,” Satish Kumar, a relative of the deceased, said.

    He said a police post and an army camp are located nearby where Bhat was assassinated, indicating that the security situation in the valley has limped back to the early 1990s.

    Another relative of Bhat, who had come from Shopian accompanying the body of the deceased, said they feel it was their biggest mistake not to leave the valley after the eruption of terrorism.

    Vikram Koul, a member of Kashmiri Pandit volunteers, said the government must immediately announce a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for the family of the deceased.

    “We also request the government to immediately relocate all the Hindus from the valley as it has failed to provide security to them,” he added.

    Chairman of Panun Kashmir Ajay Chrungoo castigated the government for the continued killing of Hindus in Kashmir and said they are caught between genocidal war unleashed on them by jihadi forces with the state of Pakistan as its prime abettor and the denial of genocide by government of India.

    The government must pass the ‘Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities Bill’ as proposed by the Panun Kashmir, he said.

    Panun Kashmir convener Agnishekhar said all claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat in view of the continued killings of the members of the minority community.

    “Tourist arrivals and shooting of films are no signs of normalcy. The real normalcy will be when we (Kashmiri pandits) are able to move freely and re-settle there without any fear,” he said.

    JAMMU: Emotions ran high as the mortal remains of a slain Kashmiri pandit were consigned to flames here on Sunday with the grief-stricken community expressing anger against the alleged failure of the government to stop selective killings by terrorists in the Valley.

    Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards.

    The body of the deceased was received by the wailing relatives at his Muthi residence in Jammu late Saturday night.

    Amid chants of high-pitch sloganeering against Pakistan, thousands of mourners joined Bhat’s two children — Shriya (daughter) and Shanu (son) — and other relatives at the Ban Talab crematory Sunday to bid a tearful adieu to him.

    They also demanded adequate compensation to the family, including Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia and a government job for the wife of the deceased, besides immediate relocation of Hindu employees outside the valley till the security situation becomes normal.

    As the body reached the cremation ground, several of Bhat’s relatives broke down. Shriya was seen kissing the body profusely to say goodbye to her father with her younger brother, a Class 5 student, staring at the corpse.

    The mourners also raised slogans against the administration for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings in the valley, soon after Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior police and civil officers, reached the cremation ground.

    “It is very unfortunate that one more Kashmiri pandit fell to the bullets of terrorists, exposing the false claims of the government about improvement in the security situation.

    ALSO READ | Kashmiri Pandit gunned down by militants in Valley, third in last five months

    He is the 18th minority community member shot dead over the past two years,” Satish Kumar, a relative of the deceased, said.

    He said a police post and an army camp are located nearby where Bhat was assassinated, indicating that the security situation in the valley has limped back to the early 1990s.

    Another relative of Bhat, who had come from Shopian accompanying the body of the deceased, said they feel it was their biggest mistake not to leave the valley after the eruption of terrorism.

    Vikram Koul, a member of Kashmiri Pandit volunteers, said the government must immediately announce a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for the family of the deceased.

    “We also request the government to immediately relocate all the Hindus from the valley as it has failed to provide security to them,” he added.

    Chairman of Panun Kashmir Ajay Chrungoo castigated the government for the continued killing of Hindus in Kashmir and said they are caught between genocidal war unleashed on them by jihadi forces with the state of Pakistan as its prime abettor and the denial of genocide by government of India.

    The government must pass the ‘Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities Bill’ as proposed by the Panun Kashmir, he said.

    Panun Kashmir convener Agnishekhar said all claims of normalcy in Kashmir have fallen flat in view of the continued killings of the members of the minority community.

    “Tourist arrivals and shooting of films are no signs of normalcy. The real normalcy will be when we (Kashmiri pandits) are able to move freely and re-settle there without any fear,” he said.

  • Puran Bhat was frequent visitor to Shopian, never faced any problem, say relatives

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Puran Krishan Bhat was a frequent visitor to his home town in Shopian district and never faced any problem, and on Thursday he had gone there to join his brother to attend their apple orchard.

    He had shifted his wife and two children — a son studying in Class 5 and a daughter who is in Class 7 — to Jammu in the aftermath of the covid-19 outbreak in 2020, otherwise all of them were living in Shopian, said one of Bhat’s relatives waiting for his body here.

    Bhat was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday, according to police.

    As the news of his killing spread, a pall of gloom descended on Muthi locality here on the outskirts of the city, which also houses a large migrant pandit township.

    Bhat’s wife and the two children were in a state of shock as relatives and neighbours, who rushed there, were seen consoling them.

    “The news of his death came as a shock for us. They are brutes who do not want any Indian nationalist in the Valley,” a relative of Bhat said.

    “The government must do something to stop such killings. What wrong did he do to anyone?” a neighbour said.

    The mortal remains of Bhat will reach here late Saturday night and the cremation will take place on Sunday, officials said.

    Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Avny Lavasa and other senior officers rushed to the residence of Bhat to express their condolences with the family.

    “All possible assistance will be provided to the family,” Kumar told reporters.

    Reacting to the killing of Bhat, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) working president Ramban Bhalla said it as a ‘grave failure’ of the Union Home Ministry which directly deals with the law and order situation in the Union Territory.

    Bhalla, who chaired a meeting of senior leaders here, called for urgent and effective measures to save innocent lives in Kashmir.

    “The party condemns the killing, which is in line with a series of such shocking incidents. It reflects that the situation in Kashmir is very grim, contrary to the claims of normalcy by the central and J-K administration,” the party said in a statement.

    It said the BJP-led central government has utterly failed to ensure the safety and security of common people in Kashmir, which is very unfortunate.

    ALSO READ: Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    Bhalla and other party leaders demanded that the culprits should be identified and dealt with sternly “Home Minister Amit Shah should speak about the series of incidents of selective and targeted killings, especially of the minority community in the recent past,” Bhalla said.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also condemned the incident and said the “bloodbath” is going on unabated in Kashmir and the BJP government as well as the LG administration are busy in spreading claims of normalcy through numerical figures and is treating loss of precious human lives as a number game.

    “Things are not well in any context as people are not even safe in their lawns and orchards where gunmen appear from nowhere, fire volley of bullets, take innocent human lives and then escape from the scene,” AAP state spokesperson Nawab Nasir said in a statement.

    He said the loss of every single human life irrespective of caste, color, creed and religion is painful and the society should stand against it to condemn the inhumane act.

    JAMMU: Puran Krishan Bhat was a frequent visitor to his home town in Shopian district and never faced any problem, and on Thursday he had gone there to join his brother to attend their apple orchard.

    He had shifted his wife and two children — a son studying in Class 5 and a daughter who is in Class 7 — to Jammu in the aftermath of the covid-19 outbreak in 2020, otherwise all of them were living in Shopian, said one of Bhat’s relatives waiting for his body here.

    Bhat was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday, according to police.

    As the news of his killing spread, a pall of gloom descended on Muthi locality here on the outskirts of the city, which also houses a large migrant pandit township.

    Bhat’s wife and the two children were in a state of shock as relatives and neighbours, who rushed there, were seen consoling them.

    “The news of his death came as a shock for us. They are brutes who do not want any Indian nationalist in the Valley,” a relative of Bhat said.

    “The government must do something to stop such killings. What wrong did he do to anyone?” a neighbour said.

    The mortal remains of Bhat will reach here late Saturday night and the cremation will take place on Sunday, officials said.

    Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Avny Lavasa and other senior officers rushed to the residence of Bhat to express their condolences with the family.

    “All possible assistance will be provided to the family,” Kumar told reporters.

    Reacting to the killing of Bhat, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) working president Ramban Bhalla said it as a ‘grave failure’ of the Union Home Ministry which directly deals with the law and order situation in the Union Territory.

    Bhalla, who chaired a meeting of senior leaders here, called for urgent and effective measures to save innocent lives in Kashmir.

    “The party condemns the killing, which is in line with a series of such shocking incidents. It reflects that the situation in Kashmir is very grim, contrary to the claims of normalcy by the central and J-K administration,” the party said in a statement.

    It said the BJP-led central government has utterly failed to ensure the safety and security of common people in Kashmir, which is very unfortunate.

    ALSO READ: Angry Kashmiri Pandits block Jammu road to protest latest target killing by terrorists

    Bhalla and other party leaders demanded that the culprits should be identified and dealt with sternly “Home Minister Amit Shah should speak about the series of incidents of selective and targeted killings, especially of the minority community in the recent past,” Bhalla said.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also condemned the incident and said the “bloodbath” is going on unabated in Kashmir and the BJP government as well as the LG administration are busy in spreading claims of normalcy through numerical figures and is treating loss of precious human lives as a number game.

    “Things are not well in any context as people are not even safe in their lawns and orchards where gunmen appear from nowhere, fire volley of bullets, take innocent human lives and then escape from the scene,” AAP state spokesperson Nawab Nasir said in a statement.

    He said the loss of every single human life irrespective of caste, color, creed and religion is painful and the society should stand against it to condemn the inhumane act.