Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits detained in Jammu

February 15, 2023 14:34

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Scores of migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees demanding a transfer from the Valley and release of salary dues were detained on Wednesday, shortly after they assembled in Jammu for a protest to press for their demands, officials said.

The employees were supposed to stage a protest outside the Press Club but were not allowed by police.

As the employees assembled in the nearby chowk and started to raise slogans in support of their demands, the police detained nearly 50 protesters. They were shifted to the Police Lines in a bus.

"We tried to persuade them to disperse but since they were adamant about continuing the protest, we took them into preventive custody," a government official said.

When asked if prohibitory orders had been implemented outside the Press Club - the scene of frequent protests -- the official said prolonged protests in the area have become a public nuisance.

"There are no restrictions on peaceful protests for half an hour or one hour but they are occupying the space for hours till midnight, causing hardship to commuters and preoccupying the administration and the police," he said.

Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits employed in the Valley under the Prime Minister's package moved to Jammu last May following the killing of two colleagues -- Rahul Bhat and Rajini Bala -- by terrorists.

While Bhat was shot dead inside his office in central Kashmir's Budgam on May 12, schoolteacher Bala was gunned down in south Kashmir's Kulgam on May 31.

On February 4, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said many of the employees had resumed their duties in the Valley and directions were issued to release their pending salaries.

Sinha had said the administration and the security forces were working with dedication to ensure the community's safety. However, the protesters claimed that only a few hundred employees had resumed their duties under compulsion while many are not willing to return to the Valley due to a "sense of insecurity". -- PTI

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