J&K LG's Principal Secy visits Kashmiri Pandit colony, assures to address Pandits' woes

Kumar, who was accompanied by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir PK Pole and DIG Central Kashmir Sujit Kumar, assured the residents, who have been protesting against Bhat's killing, that he will take up their demands with the LG Manoj Sinha, sources said.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor's Principal Secretary Nitishwar Kumar on Friday evening visited Sheikhpura Pandit Colony in central Kashmir's Budgam district to condole the demise of the Kashmiri Pandit employee Rahul Bhat, who was putting up at the colony. Kumar, who was accompanied by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir PK Pole and DIG Central Kashmir Sujit Kumar, assured the residents, who have been protesting against Bhat's killing, that he will take up their demands with the LG Manoj Sinha, sources said.

As per the sources, the residents were not satisfied with Kumar's assurances after which he left. The Pandits putting up at the Sheikhpora colony besides many other places in the valley have been protesting against the killing of Bhat since Friday accusing the government of failing to provide them security. Bhat an employee in the Revenue Department was shot at by suspected militants on Thursday at Tehsil Office Chadoora in Budgam and died at SMHS Hospital Srinagar.

Bhat had been recruited under the Prime Minister's job package allotted for the Kashmiri Pandits. A group of the employees recruited under the scheme on Saturday staged a sit-in in Srinagar and demanded that they be relocated outside the valley due to the “unsafe” environment in the aftermath of the killing.