A fresh round of protests by Kashmiri Pandits erupted in Srinagar on Tuesday after a school teacher was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The woman, identified as Rajini Bala, was a resident of Samba district in Jammu division. She used to teach at a government school in Gopalpora, Kulgam, the local police said.
Dozens of Kashmiri Pandits staged a sit-in in Srinagar, demanding justice for the teacher and seeking better safety arrangements for the community in the Valley amid a recent rise in targeted killings. “We want justice. The government should do something about targeted killings. Security should be given to migrant employees there (Kashmir division),” said a relative of Bala, as shared by news agency ANI.
Another relative of the slain teacher said Bala had shared that she was feeling “fearful” for some time. “Today it became clear,” he said. “She (Bala) had said everything is fine and there is no threat to her. Suddenly sometime back she had said it was a little fearful. Today, it became clear.”
Meanwhile, the administration deployed police at the school where Bala used to teach. Nearby areas were also cordoned off and a search operation to nab the assailants was underway. Renewed calls to be relocated from the Valley were rising and demonstrations in this regard were recently staged by government employees after the killing of Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit, in Chadoora on May 12. A Special investigation Team was investigating Bhat’s killing.Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said the teacher’s assailants will be given an “unforgettable response”. “Terrorist attack on a school teacher Rajni Bala is the most reprehensible act. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family. Terrorists and their sympathisers will be given unforgettable response for dastardly attack,” Sinha wrote on Twitter.
