Intermittent protests by the minuscule Kashmiri Pandit community continued in Kashmir on Saturday against the killing of Rahul Bhat, who was shot dead by militants on Thursday.
Reports said angry government employees of the community who resided in Veerwan transit camp in north Kashmir's Baramulla district took out a protest rally demanding they be shifted to Jammu. A scuffle reportedly broke out in the area between policemen and protesting pandit employees.
In Srinagar’s Jawahar Nagar area, BJP activists took out a protest rally against Bhat’s killing. They demanded punishment for the killers and security and safety for the community.
Pandits across Kashmir held protests on Friday. Police had to use a few tear-gas shells and mild lathi-charge to foil the protests at Sheikhpora, Budgam, who were marching towards Srinagar International Airport.
Bhat, an employee of the Revenue department was shot dead by two Pakistani terrorists in tehsil office Chadoora in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Thursday. His killing has left the entire Kashmiri Pandit community shattered while the incident evoked mass resentment and condemnation.
On Friday, J&K police said both terrorists involved in Bhat’s murder were killed in an encounter with security forces in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday warned that militants and their supporters involved in the act of killing Bhat “will have to pay a very heavy price for the heinous act”.
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