Kashmiri Pandits return to streets in Valley to protest school teacher's killing

SRINAGAR: Kashmiri Pandits employed under the PM package hit the streets at various places in the valley on Tuesday to protest the killing of a woman teacher by terrorists in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. Rajni Bala (36), who belonged to the Samba district and was posted at a government school in Gopalpora, was shot dead by terrorists earlier in the day.

A handful of Kashmiri Pandit employees assembled at the clock tower at Lal Chowk here, officials said. Another group of protesters assembled at Batwara in the Sonawar area of the city and raised slogans against the Jammu and Kashmir administration for its failure to ensure foolproof security for employees of minority communities. The protesters, mostly women, raised slogans like "Administration haye haye" (down with administration), "Minorities ko jeene do" (Let the minorities live) and "We want justice".

In south Kashmir's Qazigund town, the Kashmiri Pandit employees blocked one tube of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway to protest Bala's killing. They appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene in the matter to ensure the safety of minorities. "The government has failed completely in providing security to the minorities. Rahul Bhat was killed inside a district office on May 12 and today our sister Rajni Bala was shot dead inside a school.

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"We appeal to PM, HM and LG to intervene in the matter. Kashmiri Pandits are on the roads now and there is no hope of survival," one of the protestors said. Bala's is the second killing of a non-Muslim government employee in May. On May 12, Rahul Bhat, a clerk, was shot dead inside the tehsildar's office in Budgam district's Chadoora. This is also the seventh targeted killing in Kashmir this month. While three victims were off-duty policemen, four were civilians.

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