Srinagar: In view of the increasing incidents of attacks on members of minority community in Kashmir, the authorities have decided to transfer 177 Kashmiri Pandit teachers to "safer" places. The move comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the security situation in the Jammu and Kashmir following a spate of attacks targeting the Kashmiri Pandit community and migrants workers.
Hundreds of families from the minority community are terrified after the recent deaths of two migrant workers. Due to the increasing incidence of target killings, migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees are leaving the valley. Despite the government's promise to provide adequate security by June 6, many migrant government employees have moved to Jammu with their families while other Kashmiri Pandits Employees are also preparing to leave from here.
As far as the transfer of Kashmiri Pandit teachers is concerned, the administration has relocated the employees and their families with proper security arrangements to the places where additional deployment of police and security forces has been carried out.
Kashmiri Pandit employees have been protesting for the past few weeks in the wake of increasing incidents of targeted killings in Kashmir and are demanding that they be transferred to Jammu or other "safe places" where their lives are not in danger and they can perform their duties without any fear. The protesters are also demanding from the government that they will not perform their duties unless they are provided adequate security and relocated to safer places.
The spate of killings began with the death of Rahul Bhat, who was shot dead by terrorists on May 12 in the Chadoora area of Budgam district in central Kashmir. Bhat's killing sparked protests by around 6,000 employees at various places who demanded their relocation outside the Valley. Since then, the targeted terrorist violence in the Valley has only escalated.
On Thursday, two persons -- a bank employee and a brick kiln labourer -- were killed in Kashmir while another labourer was injured in two separate incidents. The bank manager was the eighth and the labourer was the ninth victim of targeted killings in Kashmir since May 1.
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