Sikhs in Kashmir- soft target for politically motivated acts of terror

[Gabbar]

SRINAGAR: The incidents of intimidating Sikhs in Kashmir for last three or four days on the eve of US president Barak Obama’s visit to India, are an indication of the intensity of the threats- the microscopic community in Kashmir was facing.


Ever since the dates for the high profile visit of US president to India were announced, the government agencies and the militant outfits from across the border raised an alarm of imminent threats to Kashmiri Sikhs that stem from the gruesome massacre 35 Sikhs in the year 2000 during his visit to India by president Bill Clinton. Both militants and government had been accusing each other for the massacre.

However, the local population both majority and the minority communities have been crying since long that the government forces were behind the gruesome massacre of the Sikhs in Chattisingpora and that the gunmen responsible for the act were drunk at that time.


Anyway, the gruesome massacre was about to be repeated in Hutmara village of Mattan block in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district on the intervening night of November 5 and 6. The people from minority community of the area were lucky enough as they immediately smelled something wrong from the suspicious movement of the army men from 3RR camp situated in Mattan town, half a kilometre from the Hutmara village.


According to the vigilant Sikhs, they had been noticing the movement of army for a couple of days with enormous care and had, of course, noticed the evil intentions of the camp. This time they could not succeed in their nefarious designs as the residents both Sikhs and Muslims thwarted the attempt by raising alarm and the army people were left with no option but to fled from the area.


The intentions were quite clear to draw the attention of the visiting president towards Kashmir through a prism the government forces are interested in.


The locals were got hold of the driver of one f the two TATA Sumo and handed him over to the police. The driver disclosed that the uniformed gunmen boarding his vehicle were from the 3RR camp situated nearby.


One can simply understand the vulnerability of the situation by the fact that the incidents of intimidation of Sikhs in Baramullah and Anantnag were still being debated by the people that a third incident occurred in another Sikh habitation at Rajpora in Tral area of Pulwama district in South Kashmir on the intervening night of November 6 and 7.


Uniformed gunmen appeared in the village, knocked at our doors and asked us to come out. However, we resisted their threats and raised an alarm following which villagers appeared on the roof tops. After we raised hue and cry gunmen fled away from the spot,” a local Sikh resident said.


He said that when the members of Sikh community visited Gurdwara this morning the safe containing alms was missing. “We recovered it from the nearby stream but cash was missing,” the local Sikh Priest said.

When contacted Superintendent of Police Awantipora, M S Panu, said, “There is nothing to worry. They are all safe and sound. We had reached on the spot within minutes but we didn’t find anyone there.”


Look at the statement of the concerned SP, the imminent threat to Sikhs was missing as he was not taken aback by the incident that simply unveils the truth.


The uniformed men spreading terror under given circumstances were indentified by the people pointing fingers towards the security forces.


It simply means that the minority community in Kashmir is the soft target for politically motivated massacres being triggered in Kashmir since 1989 by the contending forces to prove their point under very special situations like the one that arises in the back drop of US President’s visit to India.

Sikhs in Kashmir- soft target for politically motivated acts of terror @ www.punjabnewsline.com

 

[Gabbar]

Mistaken identity of Army troops creates panic among Sikhs in Mattan

SRINAGAR: In South Kashmir’s Mattan Town army patrolling party was in late hours Friday was miss identified as suicide bombers by the local Sikh population resulting in unprecedented chaos in the town.



“Local Sikhs in the town were celebrating Diwali, burning fire crackers late night Friday and a patrolling party of army situated in a nearby camp was travelling in two private vehicles, the people of the area mistook them as fidayeen and shouted for help. Loud speakers of the local mosques and Gurdawara were immediately switched on by the locals crying for help” an eyewitness said.


“They were unusually roaming in private Tata Sumos that confused us and we mistook them as fidayeen “ said Omkar Singh a local resident of Mattan town adding that on shouting they rushed away from the spot and people chased them. One Tata Sumo bearing Registration No. JK03A/3077 was ceased and the driver was beaten, we immediately called on the district police and handed over the Sumo driver to them, Omar Singh said.


When contacted Additional SP Anantnag Zahid Malik said there was confusion, army was on usual duty, we reached the spot immediately and pacified the situation. Yes, it was a little bit panic in the town, however, police immediately rushed to the spot and pacified the agitating Sikhs and Muslims of the area.


However Nanak Singh, a local resident said that it was a deliberate attempt to create panic among the Sikhs in the tow. “20 to 25 uniformed men entered the town through different directions and started knocking at the doors of the minority community and in some cases window pans of the Sikh houses were broken, we were dam sure that Chattisinghpora massacre is going to be repeated here” Nanak Singh said adding that the people of the majority immediately came to our rescue and whisked away the suspicious gunmen from the area.

All men, women and children of the Sikh community remained in the local Gurdawara for entire night with Muslims guarding them outside, Nanak Singh said. He said that the driver who was caught by the people revealed that the uniformed men were from 3RR.


However, the Commander of the 3RR said that the it was a road opening party and they had no intentions to harass the Sikhs in Mattan.


“In wake of President Barak Obama’s India visit, the Sikhs of Hutmara Mattan were extra vigilant” said Sardar Niranjan Singh, President of Gurdawara Prabandak Committee Mattan. It was the extra vigilance of the local population that the attempt to carry out a strike was thwarted.


DIG, South Kashmir, Shafkat Watali said that the men from 3RR were on routine patrolling and Sikhs in Mattan mistook them as fidayeen.


However, people in thousands including Sikhs and Muslims of the area came out on Srinagar Pahalgam road Saturday morning and shouted anti-army slogans demanding a judicial prob into the alleged harassment of Sikhs by the army. SSP Anantnag, however, reached the spot and assured the agitating Sikhas that the matter will be investigated. On insistence of local Sikhs FIR No. 400/2010 under Section RPC 427 and 447 was lodged in police station Mattan against. Police has started investigation into the matter.