21 March, 1997: "Sangrampora Massacre”: When Islamic terrorists killed Eight Kashmiris solely for being Hindus

 

The Sangrampora massacre occurred on March 21, 1997, in the village of Sangrampora of Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorists belonging to the Pakistan based proscribed terror group Hizbul Mujahideen carried out a brutal attack. They targeted the homes of Kashmiri Hindus, a minority community and brutally killed 8 Hindus.

 

 

 

This was one of the series of massacres in which minorities were selectively targeted by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The victims were lined up and shot dead.

 

 

After carrying out this heinous act, the terrorists fled into the darkness of the night.

 

The purpose of this crime was ethnic cleansing of Hindus, who had been targeted for years. The victims of the massacre included Sanjay Bhat, Vijay Bhat, Pyare Lal, Triloki Nath Bhat, Bhushan Lal, Avtar Krishen Pandit, Ashok Kumar Pandit and Dileep Bhat. They were targeted solely for being Hindus.

 

During 1989-90, the majority of Kashmiri Hindus had left Kashmir due to Islamic terrorism, and those remaining were also being targeted for elimination because the central government wanted to rehabilitate them, which the terrorists did not approve of. After the massacre, the Bharatiya Janata Party demanded the dismissal of the Farooq Abdullah government.