Dr. Shadi Lal Kachroo, a Kashmiri Hindu and a post-graduate in surgery had efficiency and calibre as a surgeon which was thoroughly known to the people of Anantnag where he was posted in the District Hospital. A dutiful and committed surgeon, Dr. SL Kachroo treated each of his patients equally and fairly but there came a time when even the best of his work could not speak for itself since he had come in the eyes of terrorists.

 

 

As Muslim terrorism was fast gaining momentum during 1989-90, there were massive anti-India and anti-Kashmiri Pandit demonstrations throughout the district. In one such demonstration Ghulam Mohammad Shah, old and ailing, also participated and got arrested with the rest of others. While detained in the police station Ghulam breathed his last following which his dead body was sent to the District Hospital for post-mortem and Dr. Kachru on duty declared the death as natural.

 

 

 

 

The issuance of such a certificate by the expert doctor triggered the wrath of Muslim insurgents and threatening letters started pouring into the address of the doctor. A threatening letter in Urdu dated 30th October 1989 signed by the commander of banned terror outfit Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, JKLF Pulwama read as under: "Doctor. Through your sinful act you have not only hurt our sentiments but posed a challenge to our prowess and through it you have invited your death. You have no right to serve on such a post. Resign your post within 15 days failing which you will meet the fate of the police officer of Wagura.” It was followed by a report in the "Alsafa" paper date-lined 29 November 1989 with the screeching head-lines: "The Doctor issuing fraudulent Death Certificate absconding. His abandoned car recovered from Noorpora." The rest of the news item reads "It is reliably learnt that a surgeon specialist has been absconding for some days. According to K.N.B, the doctor had declared the death of Ghulam Mohammad Shah, F/o Shabir Ahmad Shah as natural though the deceased had fallen a prey to police excesses. After what happened the doctor had started receiving threatening letters accusing him of mix-using his position just to earn favours from the government.” The report went on to state that “In view of threats to his life he had managed his transfer to Pulwama and was running his private practice at Awantipora. But now he has been absconding for some days. As per available information his abandoned car was found at Noorpora, Tral. It cannot be said with definiteness whether he has been abducted or he has gone underground."

 

 

Dr. Shadi Lal Kachroo had apparently fled the scene to a place of safety out of continuous death threats he was receiving from the terrorists. He lost all by way of material goods but his losses in books were enormous. The books numbering a thousand including journals and magazines stolen from his residence were mutilated or sold as scrap. Some of the books which he lost included rare collections and as much as he could recall it included, Short practice of Surgery-Love and Bailey, Farquharson's operative Surgery, Harrison's TextBook of Internal Medicine, Clinical Methods in Surgery-K. Dass, Hutchinson's Clinical Methods in Medicine, Textbook of obstetrics-C.S. Dawn, Shaw's Text-book of Gynaecology, Textbook of Paediatrics-O.P. Ghai, Clinical Pharmacology-Lawrence, Materia Medica-Ghosh, Gray's Anatomy, Modi's text-book of Forensic Medicine and Jurisprudence, Urology-D. R. Smith etc. As the collection itself states, the books were not only a mere collection but an accomplished heritage in that order. But the terrorists not only looted it, they eliminated a cultural heritage from the valley with their fanatic madness.

 

 

The books looted from Pandit clusters prior to their total decimation were contemptuously torn, mutilated and scattered over the interiors of the houses. There were marauders who collected numerous books on varied subjects and sold them by weight.