A night of horror in Kashmir

IN January 1990, militants stepped up their activities in Kashmir. There was a surge in targeted killings; Kashmiri Pandits and other non-Muslims were threatened with dire consequences if they did not leave the Valley. Insurgents backed by Pakistan spread terror among the Hindu population. The state government failed to handle the situation.

As the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits began, the Central Government rushed additional security forces to Kashmir. I was part of the CRPF’s 64 Battalion, which was moved from Delhi to Anantnag. Travelling by road from Jammu to Anantnag, we saw a large number of private trucks packed with household goods. Men, women and children were sitting at the rear. Some of them were holding sheep and other livestock. They were on their way to Jammu.

At Anantnag, we were put up at Degree College, Khanabal, as schools and colleges were closed due to widespread violence in the district.

Daytime curfew was imposed in Anantnag by the civil administration to curtail the movement of the public and restore peace as well as law and order in the area. We carried out extensive foot patrolling during the day. At night, we were tasked with raiding hideouts of insurgents. Every evening, we used to receive secret messages giving details of the hideouts to be raided.

One evening, we were told to capture a militant at Dari Gund village, about 10 km from Bijbehara on a link road. I was detailed to lead the raid. After briefing the troops, we left around midnight in vehicles. There was light snowfall when we left, but it became heavy as we reached Bijbehara. It was pitch dark on the road leading to Dari Gund. I was in the front seat of a jeep, followed by troops in two heavy vehicles. We had hardly covered 300 yards when I spotted a snow-covered log-like object. Amid poor visibility, we carefully avoided hitting it and drove on. On reaching Dari Gund, we raided the house after cordoning it off. However, it was too late. The militant had fled a few days ago and the tip-off was found to be dated.

It was still dark when we left Dari Gund for Anantnag. As we approached Bijbehara, we saw a group of women; they were crying loudly. I stopped the vehicle to find out what had happened. A lone policeman present there informed me that the previous night, militants had dragged a boy out of the house of a Kashmiri Pandit, shot him dead and dumped his body. It was found in the morning on the Dari Gund road. It dawned on us with a shock that the snow-covered ‘log’ we had seen was actually the body of a young Kashmiri Pandit.