15 years on, justice eludes Nadimarg carnage victims
Sumit Hakhoo
Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 22
Fifteen years after the Nadimarg massacre, which was carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorists in a south Kashmir village in Shopian district (then Pulwama), victims and survivors have lost all hopes of justice.
Every year the families of displaced Kashmiri Pandits from the village meet at a community hall in the Muthi migrant camp to remember their friends and relatives who died during the massacre.
Twentyfour members of the community, including 11 women and two children, were gunned down by terrorists on the night of March 23, 2003, with the help of overground workers from surrounding villages. Of the 25 persons taken hostage by insurgents, one Chuni Lal Raina luckily survived the carnage. His family now lives in the Purkhoo camp.
The community has long alleged role of several locals who guided the gunmen but only an inquiry was conducted and one Pakistani militant was arrested. At that time late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was heading the PDP-Congress government while Atal Bihari Vajpayee headed the BJP-led NDA government in New Delhi.
“We will never get justice because we are not a vote bank for political parties. It was an organised massacre to drive Pandits out from the village. Many of my friends died that day,” said Chand Ji Bhat, one of the survivors, who taking advantage of darkness hid himself in the chimney of his kitchen after gunmen searched for people.
According to eyewitness, around 11 pm on March 23, the gunmen entered the village called the victims out and took them near the temple. They were lined up and shot in the head.
Now abandoned, Nadimarg was a Hindu majority village. It had nearly 50 Pandit families before the eruption of separatist insurgency in 1990. Pandits were owners of fertile farms and fruit orchards which were considered best in south Kashmir and lived in relative peace despite the exodus of nearly 35-40 families. At the time of massacre, around 10 families were living in the village.
“I still get nightmares because I saw the faces of the dead, including two children. All culprits who were involved in the crime are alive and some of them are serving or have retired from government departments. A proper investigation was never carried out,” said Sanjay Tikku, a human rights activist.
Former DGP Kuldeep Khoda, who headed the Intelligence wing of the J&K Police at that time, accepts that without local help such massacre was not possible. However, he said investigation always remains a challenge in terror incidents.
“A terrorist cannot travel and survive without the help of locals. In such incidents, there are no witnesses and forensic investigation is the only option but unfortunately it was neglected,” said Khoda.
