Amidst the army chief’s visit to Kashmir, terrorists shot dead the chairman of the municipality Kashmiri Pandit and BJP leader Rakesh Pandita in Tral. A woman has also been injured in the terrorist attack, who has been shifted to the hospital. The attackers, said to be number three, escaped from the spot, in search of whom the security forces have intensified the search operation by cordoning off the entire area.
On the other hand, the police has claimed that Rakesh Pandita was given two PSOs for personal security, but on Wednesday he left Tral without security. According to the police, Rakesh Pandita’s son Somnath Pandita had come to his friend Mustaq Bhat’s house in Tral Bala area on Wednesday. During this, three unidentified terrorists opened fire on Rakesh Pandita from close range. Pandita and his friend’s daughter were hit in the firing. Both were immediately rushed to the hospital, but Rakesh Pandita died.
Rakesh Pandita was the chairman of Tral Municipality. According to the Kashmir Zone Police, Rakesh Pandita was given the security of two PSOs. Apart from this, he was given accommodation facility in a secure hotel in Srinagar. On Wednesday, without security personnel, he left for Tral, where he became a victim of a terrorist attack.
BJP Spokesperson said – As many as you will kill,
BJP spokesperson Manzoor Bhatt from Kashmir said in the audio message that Rakesh Pandita was an active leader of BJP. Even before this, BJP leaders and workers have been targeted by terrorists. BJP workers in Kashmir Valley are being targeted as part of a conspiracy. The more BJP workers the terrorists kill, the more they will stand. Manzoor Bhatt said that Rakesh Pandita had gone to console a bereaved family, during which the terrorists opened fire on him.
BJP Sarpanch was murdered in Kulgam last year
On 6 August 2020, BJP Sarpanch Sarpanch Sajad Ahmed was shot dead by terrorists in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir. He was outside his house at the time of the incident. Earlier in July 2020, BJP’s Bandipora district president and two of his family members were murdered. At the same time, a month before this incident, on June 8, Congress leader and sarpanch Ajay Pandita was murdered in Anantnag.
This is a very sad incident. Terrorists will never succeed in their plans. Whoever is responsible for the attack, they must face the process of justice.
Manoj Sinha, LG Jammu and Kashmir
Tral’s municipal councilor has been shocked by the news of the fatal attack. This is an inhuman act of those who do not allow democracy to be established at the grassroots level in the Kashmir Valley. My condolences to the bereaved family.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh
The news of the shooting of a BJP leader is shocking. Such violence is only adding to the pain of Jammu and Kashmir. I express my deepest sympathies to the victim’s family. May God rest the soul of the departed.
Mehbooba Mufti, former CM
Rakesh Pandita stood amidst the challenge of terrorism and separatism in the Valley since the nineties. This murder has again shown the Pakistani intentions. The terrorists who carried out the crime will be selectively piled up.
– Ravindra Raina, President Jammu and Kashmir BJP
Such killings show that the conspiracy to racially eliminate Kashmiri Pandits continues in the Valley, but Kashmiri Pandits will not hold back from returning to the Valley. We belong to Kashmir and Kashmir is ours.
– Ashwani Churangu, BJP and Kashmiri Pandit leader
Wave of mourning in Jammu due to the killing of Kashmiri Pandit leader
There is also a wave of mourning in Jammu due to the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit leader of BJP. Rakesh Pandita, who was killed in the terror attack, was originally a resident of Tral, but his family is currently in Jammu. BJP sources said that the body of Rakesh Pandita will be brought to Jammu on Thursday. His last rites will also be performed in Jammu itself. On the other hand, there is a wave of panic and anger in the Kashmiri Pandit community.
Many people from the Kashmiri Pandit community are active in the Valley by joining various political parties. Even before this many Kashmiri Pandit leaders have been murdered. Ashwani Churangu, political affairs and feedback in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir BJP, said that the body of Rakesh Pandita has been reported to be brought to Jammu on Thursday. He said that Rakesh Pandita had personal security, but he left without security due to some reason, which gave an opportunity to the terrorists. He said that there is definitely panic and anger due to such incidents but Kashmiri Pandits will not back down from returning to the valley.
