Three civilians were killed in separate terror incidents in a single day in Kashmir. The Resistance Front, an outfit that is part of the terror group LeT which is sponsored from across the border from Pakistan claimed responsibility for 2 of the terror attacks.
The deceased include Makhan Lal Bindroo a famous 68-year-old Kashmiri Pandit Pharmacist who did not leave the valley despite the 1990 Genocide and continued to serve the people of Kashmir by running his medical store. His Medical store Bindroo Medicare was a popular one in Srinagar which was frequented by even members of the majority community.
He was shot dead by terrorists at around 7 PM in his shop while he was attending to his customers in Srinagar’s area of Iqbal Park. He was rushed to a hospital but unfortunately was declared dead on arrival due to multiple bullet injuries.
Dr G.M. Naikoo, an assistant professor at Srinagar’s Government Medical College, said Bindroo was a “household name for the availability of quality medicines” in Kashmir. He said his pharmacy ended the search among patients for the rarest of rare medicines.
“He has served Kashmir for generations. His killing is shocking and condemnable, as is the killing of other innocent civilians, be they Muslims or non-Muslims,” he said.
Within an hour Virender Paswan a chat seller from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists near Madina Chowk in Lal bazar. He was shot due to him being a non-local, in recent times even famous Kashmiri journalists have been spreading Xenophobia and Hinduphobia against non-locals particularly against poor immigrants from India’s Northern states who take up the job of daily wage vendors in Kashmir. Unfortunately, such bigots are supported by some mainstream intellectuals in India who condemn the detention of such people by the Government.
In the third incident, suspected militants gunned down Mohammad Shafi Lone at Shahgund village in Bandipora. Lone, a resident of Naidkhai village, headed Sumo Car Stand, an association of taxi owners in the area.
All the three attack sites have been cordoned off by the police and a search is going on to catch the terrorists. Police sources say these attacks are a new hybrid warfare method adopted by the terrorists where soft targets are killed by overground terror workers using small firearms. This provides them the advantage of anonymity as most of such workers do not have their names in official records thus making it difficult for the police to catch them.
Since January this year, as many as six persons from the minority community have been killed by militants across Kashmir. The police had prior intelligence inputs indicating that the members of the minority community would be targeted. This indicates the abject failure of the Government machinery which is now run by the ” Nationalist ” BJP.
