LG meets slain Rahul Bhatt's family amid protests

LG Manoj Sinha on Friday met with the family members of Rahul Bhatt who was killed by terrorists at Budgam on Thursday and assured all possible help from Government to them. LG announced a Govt. job to his wife in Jammu and said that Govt. will also extend financial help to his family and bear all educational expenses of his six year old daughter.

LG said terrorists and their supporters will have to pay a very heavy price for this brutal act. LG announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been constituted by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to investigate the murder of Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhatt.

Meanwhile, Kashmiri Hindu protesters were on Friday lathi-charged and attacked with tear gas shells during the protest against the targeted killing of Rahul Bhat. Kashmiri Hindu supporters had hit the streets demanding justice for Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat who was killed by Islamist terrorists on Thursday in Kashmir. The protesters blocked the highway and staged protests against the killing of Rahul Bhat.

Amidst the unprecedented protests, Jammu and Kashmir police used tear-gas shells and mild lathi-charge to foil the protest of dozen of Kashmiri Pandits at Sheikhpora, Budgam, who were marching towards Srinagar International Airport. There are nearly 1,500 Kashmiri Pandits living in government constructed flats at Sheikhpora in Budgam district besides other clusters in various districts across Kashmir.

In Budgam, outside the camp housing Pandit government employees in Sheikhpora, protesters blocked roads and raised slogans against J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Amidst chaotic scenes and anti-administration slogans, the protesters questioned the government’s narrative of “normalcy and security".

Residents of the Sheikhpora camp continued their protest late on Friday and claimed that the police had “locked them inside the colony” to contain the unrest. One of the protesters in Sheikhpora, Vimal Bhat, said: “This is not the first such killing. Government has been making many claims about our security. All their assurances have failed. In another six months, there will be another protest over another killing. This has to end.”

In Jammu, mourners also blocked the road outside the cremation ground for a brief while and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. “He was on leave, but he was specially called to the office that day. It was a security lapse,”victims relative said.