Srinagar, May 13 : One day after the targeted assassination of Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat in Chadoora, Budgam, the valley erupted with rage. While hundreds of Kashmiri pundits have taken to the streets to protest Bhat’s cold-blooded murder, reports suggest nearly 350 government employees working under the Prime Minister’s employment package in Kashmir have resigned en masse.
These government employees reportedly sent their resignation to Deputy Governor Manoj Sinha. A copy of it has also been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). In the letter, the employees said they do not feel safe after the killing of KP government employee Rahul Bhat at the hands of Islamic terrorists.
“Due to despondency over the administration’s policies and subsequent failure to provide a sense of security to all the minority Kashmiri pandits who served in the valley for the last 12 years, and due to the desperation of the promised custodians, who us They promised to provide them with a decent place and an honorable return, and by threat of life, which is a fundamental right of each and every one of the human beings.”
“We PM Package employees and non-PM package employees have been left with no option but to give en mass resignation which we know is the only solution to save our lives,” said the Kashmir Pandits in the resignation letter.
Mainstream political leaders condemned the killing of an employee at Tehsil office Chadoora in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. National Conference (NC) President and Member of Parliament, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, said, “I unequivocally condemn the dastardly attack on Rahul Bhatt. The sole purpose of such dastardly and heinous acts is to vitiate the atmosphere of Kashmir. I condemn the killing in the strongest possible terms. My heartfelt condolences to Rahul’s family,” he said.
Omar Abdullah said that targeted killings continue and a sense of fear grows unchecked. “I unequivocally condemn the murderous militant attack on Rahul Bhatt. Rahul was a government employee working in the Tehsil office in Chadoora where he was attacked. Targeted killings continue & a sense of fear grows unchecked. My heartfelt condolences to Rahul’s family. RIP,” Omar tweeted.
“This young man had his entire life ahead of him & to know that his life was so cruelly extinguished today is tragic. Rest in peace Rahul Bhatt,” Omar said.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti said that the killing belies the false claims of normalcy in Kashmir.
“Condemn the gruesome act wherein a Kashmiri Pandit boy Rahul Bhat was murdered in chadoora. Another life ended and another family was devastated. My heart goes out to the bereaved family in this hour of grief. It also belies the false claims of normalcy in Kashmir,” Mehbooba tweeted.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) condemned the killing of a Revenue employee, terming the act as ‘heinous and mindless’.
JKPCC has strongly condemned the killing of Revenue Employee Rahul Bhat in Tehsil Office Chadoora by unidentified gunmen, terming the incident a ghastly, highly condemnable and mindless act.
