In J&K’s night of terror, 90 killed in 8 massacres

Within an hour and a half, terrorists struck at another nearby brick kiln. Three militants wearing Army uniforms called the labourers out and shot dead 19 of them. At around the same time, militants struck at Kalaroos in north Kashmir killing seven of a surrendered militant’s family.

The killings in Doda came within three hours of the massacre at Pahalgam. And in less than two hours, foreign mercenaries had left 27 dead in four Jammu villages, in the treacherous mountainous terrain in Doda district.

Sources said that group of terrorists first struck at Kunda, about 18 kms on a mountainous terrain from Ramsoo on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at 9.30pm. They asked all the male members to come out of their houses and pumped bullets from their AK-47s, killing 11 on the spot.

Then, the terrorists divided themselves in two groups. While one group went to the nearby Kharwan village, the other went to Hansraj Top. Four people each were gunned down at both the places. Foreign mercenaries also struck at Dachan, killing eight Village Defence Committee (VDC) members at Keyar around 11.30 pm.

The timing, targets and the gravity of the massacres are a clear messageof disapproval to the recent ceasefire offer of the Hizbul Mujahideenand the reciprocative gesture by Centre, that suspended all operationsagainst the outfit. Though no outfit has claimed responsibility, theneedle of suspicion points to the pan-Islamic terrorist groups likeLashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish Mohmmad, who have launched a tirade against theHizb proposal blaming them of committing betrayal.

In fact, the Police here is blaming Lashkar for the massacres and even thetwo terrorist killed at Pahalgam have been identified as Shabir Shah andManbsoor Ali Khan of Lashkar. However, the Hizb circles don’t feeldiscouraged by these desperate attempts “to scuttle the process of resolution of Kashmir dispute through peaceful means”.

Hizbul top commander Abdul Majeed Dar who recently announced the three-month long ceasefire condemned the killings and told The IndianExpress on phone that such acts are unislamic. “Such acts defame theongoing freedom movement and paints it in a communal colour. “Whosoever isresponsible for such an act is worth condemning. It is a sin againsthumanity,” he said.

The Government too is not surprised about the desperate reaction for thefirst ever peace move initiated after years of frustration and stagnation.Chief minister Farooq Abdullah said the acts were aimed at sabotaging thepeace process. “Such savage acts of senseless elements will not deter thepeace-loving people from pursuing the path of dialogue to end this nakeddance of death here,” Abdullah said.

The story of the Pahalgam shootout became a bit clearer today. Two suspectedterrorists wearing camouflage fatigues appeared at the bridge overlooking the yatri camp. “I thought they were Armymen and I shouted Jai Hind. They were running and did not respond. But as soon as they reached the bridge, they opened fire,” said Baba Chotay Lal. “A woman was hit in her leg in front of me. I was horrified and sat flat on the ground. There were just gunshots all around.”

The terrorists then ran towards the Central Reserve Police Force post firingindiscriminately towards the dozens of yatris and shopkeepers spreadacross the camp. A few dozen metres ahead, there are broken bangles amid pools of blood. Around 13 yatris and the shopkeeper were killed at this spot.

Just across the road, it is Meerat Bhandar, where at least 900 touristsmostly from Meerut were camping. The militants hurled two grenadestowards a tent, killing one yatri and injuring four. The pradhan of the camp, Vinod Kumar Grover, said the toll would have been much higher if he had asked the yatris to leave the tents and hide inside the rooms. “I saw two militants firing. They even tried to come into our camp but a BSF man, who had come to us, opened fire and scared them away,” he said.

Another yatri, Kubair Vashist, said he too was near the bridge when theterrorists opened fire. “I was behind them. They were running and firingtowards the camp on both sides of the road,” he said. “I saw a man beinghit by a bullet right on the bridge. He fell down into the stream.”

Eyewitnesses said the militants then ran straight towards the CRPF postand were killed by the sentry. “After the militant firing there was a brief lull. Then CRPF men came out and started firing indiscriminately,” said Jagtar Singh of Punjab. “I escaped death at least four times during that mayhem. It is a rebirth for me”.

At the brick kilns down at Yumo in Anantnag, the local villagers had comeout to console Mahetri. This 25-year-old widow had come to Kashmir fromBilaspur accompanying her husband Roopa just two months ago. “He would earn Rs 2,000 a month and we were living happily. Now it is the end to everything,” she said.

The administration imposed curfew in all the six districts of Jammu region and called out the Army to check any untoward incident. Angry residents, however, defied curfew restrictions and held demonstrations at various places.