JAMMU: Following gruesome killing of Rajni Bala – a school teacher – by terrorists on Tuesday, a sense of fear and insecurity has gripped thousands of Scheduled Caste (SC) employees, who hail from Jammu region and are serving in almost all the districts of Kashmir division.
A large number of Jammu-based employees are deployed in Kashmir Valley, however, there are several Scheduled Caste employees who were directly appointed under the inter-district recruitment policy of J&K government.
Though several Scheduled Caste employees belonging to various districts of Jammu region are serving in Kashmir for more than a decade without any inhibition, a series of target killings in various parts of the Valley in the recent past has made them feel vulnerable.
Perhaps for the first time in the last 12 years, there is a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty among these Scheduled Caste employees, whose number is more than 2500.
Appointed from time to time under the inter-district recruitment policy, these Scheduled Caste employees are serving in far-flung interiors of Kashmir Valley and are putting up in rented accommodations there.
The fear among these employees can be gauged from the fact that after reaching Rajni Bala’s village Nanke Chak, some of them joined by a large number of locals resorted to shouting slogans against the government. They were demanding their relocation to Jammu due to threat perception, the same demand being raised by Displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees appointed under the Prime Minister’s package.
“Situation in Kashmir is alarming. Serving there has become risky now as terrorists are selectively killing employees after regular intervals in almost all parts of the Valley. The frequency of target killing has risen. Day before yesterday they killed Rajni Bala. Today it was the turn of a bank manager. This is not going to stop soon,” said one SC employee, who is serving in Kashmir.
Referring to Rajni Bala’s killing, he said that it was for the first time that the terrorists attacked any Jammu-based employee who was recruited under the inter-district recruitment policy in the Scheduled Caste category.
