Amid protests, slain teachers cremated

On Friday, a tearful adieu was paid to a woman principal and a teacher who were shot dead inside their Srinagar school, as protests erupted across Jammu and Kashmir over the recent spate of civilian killings, with opposition leaders alleging that the “worsening” situation in the union territory was due to the Centre’s “wrong measures.”

Supinder Kaur, the slain principal of a government school in Eidgah, had her death rites performed by her family and relatives at a cremation ground in Srinagar’s Karan Nagar area. Hundreds of Sikhs gathered at Kaur’s home in Aloochi Bagh and led a protest march from there, carrying her lifeless remains on a stretcher.

Old and young members of the community marched from Aloochi Bagh to Jehangir Chowk, shouting slogans demanding justice for the victim and her colleague Deepak Chand, who were both shot and killed at the school.

The police attempted, but failed, to persuade the protesters to halt their march.

They marched to the Civil Secretariat, the government’s seat in Jammu and Kashmir, and staged a silent sit-in there.

The protest march and sit-in, according to community members, were held to seek justice for Kour.

Kour’s mortal remains were then taken to the cremation yard, where her last rituals were performed and she was bid a sad farewell.

Chand was cremated and placed to rest in Jammu’s Shaktinagar cremation cemetery. As Chand’s mortal bones arrived from Srinagar at his Patoli house about midnight, a pall of gloom had descended, with hundreds of people waiting outside.

Kanta Devi, Chand’s mother, and Anuradha, Chand’s wife, were inconsolable.

“Just give me my Deepak back. I don’t want a job. I don’t want anything,” a wailing Kanta Devi said.

Kanta Devi, who migrated from Kashmir with her family in 1990, claimed that the government was unable to secure the safety of her son, who was forced to work in Kashmir for a living and paid with his life.

Kaur and Chand were slain at close range, bringing the total number of civilians killed by militants in Kashmir Valley to seven in just five days. A renowned Kashmiri Pandit Makhan Lal Bindroo and a merchant from Bihar, Virendra Paswan, were killed in Srinagar on Tuesday, while civilian Mohammad Shafi Lone was killed near Bandipora. On Saturday, Majid Ahmad Gojri was killed in Karan Nagar and Mohammad Shafi Dar was killed in Batamaloo.

As a result of the recent spate of targeted killings of minorities in Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandit organisation claims that some community members who were given government jobs as part of a rehabilitation package in 2010-11 have begun quietly migrating to Jammu, fearing for their lives, claiming that the administration was unable to provide them with a secure environment.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders condemned the government over the deaths and demanded harsh punishment.

Several organisations held rallies throughout the day, claiming that the killings were the consequence of “frustration among separatists as the region saw rapid growth and peace.”

Thousands of people gathered in Jammu for a rally organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Forum (JKPF). Protesters blocked traffic on the Tawi bridge in Jammu and gathered around the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh, Kashmir’s last king, shouting anti-Pakistan slogans.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena, and the Jagran Manch, in addition to the JKPF, organised protests in Purkhoo, Butanagar, and Muthi, while members of the Kashmiri Pandit community demonstrated in Purkhoo, Butanagar, and Muthi.

“We are holding protests to express our anger over the selective and systematic killing of minorities (Sikhs and Hindus) in Kashmir during the past few days. The terrorists of TRF (The Resistance Front) selectively targeted two teachers belonging to minority communities and shot them dead,” JKPF member Rajiv Pandita said.

Yudhvir Sethi, the BJP’s vice-president for Jammu and Kashmir, said those responsible for deaths will be punished and will not go free.

“Terrorists are attacking soft targets and unarmed minorities to create fear and terror in Kashmir. The violence is the result of the pressure they are feeling,” he said.

A protest march was also held by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries, which decried the recent spate of killings.

Hundreds of businessmen, traders, and industrialists, led by Arun Gupta, yelled anti-Pakistan slogans and demanded immediate protection for minorities in the Valley.

Jammu and Kashmir National Panther Party (JKNPP) activists organised a protest in Jammu, led by its leader Harsh Dev Singh, condemning the violence and the government’s failure to prevent it.