‘Cowardly act, total failure to protect us’: Kashmiri Pandits stage protest over killing of Hindu teacher

A 36-year-old Kashmiri Pandit teacher was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday, making it the second such incident in the union territory in the month of May. The death of the teacher has now sparked outrage across the valley.

The Kashmiri Pandit community in J&K staged protests against the killing of Rajni Bala, who was a female Hindu teacher in a government school in Kulgam. The community has called the killing of Bala a “cowardly act”, and has alleged that the government has failed to protect them against such incidents.

Terming the killing a “cowardly act”, the protesters said assurances given by the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration to ensure the safety of minorities in the Valley have proved to be false. The members of the community also demanded additional protection from the government in wake of the recent killings.

Rajni Bala (36), who belonged to the Samba district and was posted at a government school in Gopalpora, was shot in the head by terrorists earlier in the day. She succumbed to her injuries at a hospital, according to police.

“There have been 22 killings of Hindus by terrorists in the Valley and over 14 people have been injured. Four temples have been attacked. This is an undeclared assault on minorities in Kashmir and the government is saying that the situation is normal,” Kashmiri Pandit leader Vinood Tickoo said, as per PTI reports.

A rally was taken out against the killing of the Hindu teacher in the Durga Nagar area, where the protestors raised slogans against Pakistan. Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal activists also staged protests against Bala’s killing in parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The government should grant us arms licenses, we will fight in Kashmir. Minority Hindu employees serving in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley should also be given weapons for their personal protection,” Jammu president of Bajrang Dal Rakesh Kumar told reporters.

This is the second killing of a Kashmiri Pandit government employee in the month of May. Earlier in the month, Rahul Bhat, a Hindu government employee, was shot dead by terrorists inside the tehsil office in Budgam, sparking outrage from the community.