Killing ‘exposes’ vulnerability of panchayat members

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 10

The brutal killing of a sarpanch in south Kashmir has again set off a debate over the security vulnerability of elected panchayat members in Jammu and Kashmir, with stakeholders accusing the UT administration of being little bothered about the lives of panches and sarpanches.

The more intriguing is that the UT administration has remained “unmoved” to the proposal of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD&PR) Department made about nine months ago wherein the latter had suggested for conducting security audit of elected panchayat members and block development council (BDC) chairpersons in vulnerable areas.

“Immediately after the BDC elections in October last year, the RD&PR Department had requested the Home Department for conducting a security audit so that panchayat members in vulnerable areas are provided necessary security. What happened thereafter is not clear,” highly placed sources in the RD&PR Department told The Tribune.

“It was requested that security threat to panchayat members in vulnerable areas should be assessed and appropriate measures should be taken to lower the risk to their lives,” the sources said.

Shockingly, sarpanch Ajay Pandita Bharti, who was gunned down by militants in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on June 8, had repeatedly been asking for security in view of threat to his life.

Shafiq Mir, chairman of the All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), regretted, “We had been fighting for the security of panchayat members since 2012. So far, 19 sarpanches and panches have been killed by terror groups but the government has remained unresponsive to our pleas. If the government fails to protect the life of a minority community KP leader, how can people expect that KPs would be rehabilitated back in the Kashmir Valley.”

“We have strong apprehensions that the terror groups would again target our panchayat members as panchayats are the only democratically elected institutions in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370. We request the Prime Minister to personally intervene and ensure the security of panchayat members.

Anil Sharma, UT president, AJKPC, sought an inquiry into all administrative lapses that led to the killings of panchayat members in J&K. “We have repeatedly been asking for the security to panchayat members but security agencies did not take our requests seriously. Consequently, our panchayat members are being killed. It is the high time for the government to seriously think over the issue,” he said.

Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary, Home Department, could not be contacted on phone, despite repeated attempts.

Hizb behind crime: Cops

• Srinagar: The J&K Police say they have identified two Hizbul Mujahideen militants who were involved in the killing of sarpanch Ajay Pandita Bharti.
• The newly formed The Resistance Front (TRF) had claimed the killing.
• However, a senior police officer said Hizb was behind the killing.
• “We have identified two local militants of the Hizb, who killed the sarpanch and a hunt is on to trace them,” a senior police officer said. TNS