Few families of Kashmiri Pandits “leave” Kashmir

Srinagar, June 1 (UNI) Even as the J&K government is trying to cool down the tempers, few families of Kashmiri Pandits living in Kashmir have fled the valley, a group of Pandits said on Wednesday.

The families “left” soon after 36-year-old school teacher Rajni Bala, a Hindu and a resident of Samba was shot dead in a targeted attack in Kulgam on Tuesday.

“After the killing of the school teacher, few families packed bags and left the valley,” said a Kashmiri Pandit Jatin Bindroo, one of those who left Kashmir. Bindroo was residing at Veervan transit camp on the outskirts of Baramulla. “Our families were disturbed over these targeted attacks which were happening every fortnight. It was a compulsion for us to leave.”

Bindroo said many families on Tuesday moved out of the valley from the transit camp.

The former president of a Pandit colony at Veervan Avtar Krishan Bhat said several families had fled since Tuesday.

“Many families living at Veerivan have left due to the panic and some more are contemplating to leave,” he said.

However, Rakesh, another Pandit employee living at Veerivan said some employees shifted to Jammu, but it was not that they fled the place.

” It is not true that 100 families fled from Baramulla,” he said Senior officials of the district did not respond to repeated calls.

The series of target killings have spread panic among the Kashmir Pandit who have been protesting since the killing of Rahul Bhat on May 12. The Kashmir Pandits employees under the PM package are demanding relocation outside Kashmir.