Police intel signals grimmer times ahead for J&K

With targeted killings showing no signs of abating, officials are on their toes; Gupkar alliance asks locals to ensure safety of minorities

With no let-up in the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and non-local labourers that began in the Valley 18 months ago, intercepted messages by militant outfits on social media and chat applications are sending ominous signals.

Hours after the little-known outfit Kashmir Tigers claimed responsibility for the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit employee at his office in Budgam, a web portal, apparently run by the militants and monitored by the security agencies, had a post which said that the fresh targets would be “migrant Pandits who are getting government jobs especially in departments which are important for demographic changes”. 

The post underlined the Revenue Department, which deals with the implementation of the land laws, and claimed that “30% of employees recruited were non-locals and migrant Pandits”. 

Monitoring of chat rooms and pro-militant blogs by security agencies has pointed to a “a dangerous narrative” that Pandit employees were being giving preference in key departments such as the Sales Tax Department. 

“Public prosecutors who resistance fighters ignored previously have to be targeted as they are the most silent characters,” a threat post, being investigated for its location and affiliation, read. Several other posts threatened to carry out more attacks on non-locals, Pandits, and policemen. 

Security forces are already on high alert in Kashmir, and the Jammu and Kashmir police have taken “several measures this year to ensure safety of minorities”, besides increasing area dominance of locations where Pandits live and non-local labourers work.  

According to police data, at least nine non-local labourers have been shot at and injured by militants in south Kashmir and Srinagar so far this year. Most of the attacks were reported from Pulwama, a industrial hub in south Kashmir.