Srinagar: The target killings of civilians have left people in Kashmir shell-shocked with everyone looking for answers.
A day after a prominent pharmacist, Makhan Lal Bindroo besides a roadside vendor (Hindu) from Bihar and a cab driver (Muslim) from Naidkhai were killed, two teachers on Thursday fell victim to the bullets of the killers in Eidgah area of Srinagar.
Almost all political parties have strongly condemned these killings and unanimously asked the administration to act fast and get the killers and try them under the law of the land.
Police says that The Resistance Front (TRF) is behind these killings and the DGP has claimed that police has got some vital leads in the earlier attacks and the killers would be exposed soon.
These killings, particularly those of the people from minority community, have left Kashmiris in utter shock. The sudden spurt in civilian killings (data shows more than two dozen innocent civilians have been killed by the militants in the first 9 months of 2021) has created a sense of insecurity all over.
Experts opine that the “killers are trying to scare out the minorities from Kashmir thus bringing a bad name to majority community here besides defaming the very basics of Kashmiriyat.”
Common Kashmiris are left speechless.
“I don’t know what to say. We have known Bindroo-ji for ages. He had a medical shop in our vicinity and we always found him as a caring neighbor,” said a shopkeeper from Gonikhun market.
Commenting on Bindroo’s killing, another shopkeeper from the vicinity said, “Ye Chu Zulum. Kuss Taam Chu Yesaan Musalmanan Badnam Karun (this is cruel; someone is trying to defame Muslims).”
Reacting to the killing of two teachers on Thursday, a government school teacher said, “This is the worst form of terrorism. In civilized societies, teachers are seen as prophets of knowledge and here they fall prey to terror attacks. Society needs to speak up otherwise these heartless killers are going to spare none.”
He, however, questioned the UT administration too. “You drum up the claims of normalcy, your claims make people complacent and terrorists have a field day. Let someone from the administration admit that something is wrong within the security establishment and that wrong needs to be corrected to save human lives.”
Another teacher, who said that he had worked with slain teacher Supinder Kour sometime back and had rushed to her home after hearing about the tragedy, couldn’t hold his tears. “Ma’m was a dedicated teacher. Whosoever killed her will rot in hell,” he said, adding, “Time has come for the Kashmiris to speak out against such killings. Let us not allow the enemies of Kashmir to divide us.”
“The so called champions of human rights who used to make hue and cry and condemn police action against terrorists as violation of human rights, are keeping quiet. Terrorists want the last non-Muslim guy out from Kashmir. TRF has owned the killings and these champions haven’t uttered a word,” said a top police officer.
“The poor and conflict-weary Kashmiris live under the dark shadow of terrorism day after day. The so-called champion of human rights, both within and outside, watch silently as terrorists continue gunning down pharmacists, labourers, teachers and whosoever they want to,” he added.
