Chotigam victims also demand justice
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Nov 4: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today visited Muthi near here to meet the family members of Puran Krishan Bhat who was gunned down by militants in Chowdhary Gund village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district on October 15.
Bhat was killed outside his ancestral house in the apple rich area of Shopian where he had gone to look after his orchards.
Flanked by Divisional Commissioner, Ramesh Kumar and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Mukesh Singh, D C Jammu, Avny Lavasa and Director Information and Nodal Officer Kashmiri Migrants, Akshay Labroo, LG Sinha, visited the house of Bhat at Muthi and offered his condolences to his wife Sweety Bhat, children Shriya and Shanu and other relatives.
Click here to watch video
Sinha later tweeted “Met the family members of martyr Puran Krishan Bhat Ji at their residence in Jammu and offered my condolences,”.
He also tweeted that the administration has been directed to provide a permanent Government job to Bhat’s wife and extend every possible help to the family.
Bhat’s brother-in-law Ashok Kumar Raina told reporters that L-G has assured them that the culprits will be brought to book. “The case is under investigation. It is at its conclusion stage,” he said.
Raina said that family demanded the speedy investigation in the case and punishment to the militants responsible for this heinous crime.
He said the LG showed all sympathy to the family. He added that excesses have been committed against the family and it has faced a great tragedy.
He assured that those responsible will not be spared and they will be brought to book’’, Raina said while quoting the LG.
Raina said the family raised the issue of job, education for children and ex gratia besides shifting household items from Choudhary Gund to Jammu.
“The LG has assured us all support,” he said adding that the demand for registration of families as migrants was raised with him and he assured us of support in the matter including hike in ex-gratia.
He said LG offered his condolences and he spared some time out of his busy schedule to visit the family. He also said that family has full faith in the administration and LG as a head of UT has full information about everything happening there.
Bhat’s elder brother, Ashwani Kumar Bhat who is also a Government teacher posted in Kashmir said that the family demanded his transfer to Jammu in view of prevailing situation and threat perception looming large in the Valley. He said being the elder member in the family he has now to share the responsibility and look after both the families.
Bhat’s wife said that she wants to hear the news that her husband’s killers are dead. “This will give me justice”.
“We lived in utter fear for the past several months. The fear became real when militants gunned down my husband at the gate of my house in Choudhary Gund”, she said.
Choudhary Gund residents have submitted a memorandum to the L-G seeking the registration of 13 families as migrants in Jammu. Vir Ji Kaul said that the L-G has “assured us support in facilitating registration as migrants”.
Thirteen Kashmiri Pandit families, who migrated from a village in south Kashmir amid ‘targeted’ killings of members of their community, demanded that the administration register them as “migrants”.
Of the 13 families comprising 43 members, 10 had left Choudhary Gund village in Shopian district and reached Jammu on October 26. The remaining three had reached the city earlier.
Meanwhile, the three Kashmiri Pandit families of adjoining Chotigam village in Apple rich Shopian district whose one member was gunned down by militants on August 16 this year while other two were injured have also demanded justice from Government. They have also demanded their registration as migrants besides grant of all facilities to them including free education to the children of Sunil Kumar Pandit who was gunned down by militants, said his sobbing wife Sunita.
She said the family did not receive any help from Government except Rs one lakh as ex-gratia. Sunil has left behind his wife and four school going daughters. The family has now no source of income after losing their sole male member and bread earner.
She also made an appeal to the LG seeking sympathetic in her case.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
