Pandit community holds candlelit protest in Pulwama

PULWAMA — The community of Kashmiri Pandits at Migrant Colony Haal in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district held a candlelit protest on Sunday evening.

The candlelight protest was staged to pay homage to Rahul Bhatt, who was shot dead at his office in Chadoora, Budgam.

The protestors demanded a thorough enquiry into the killing of 35-year-old Rahul Bhatt on Thursday inside his office, which has led to protests from members of Kashmiri Pandits in many areas of the Valley including Budgam, Srinagar, Anantnag and even in Jammu.

The Kashmiri Pandits said they have never come out on roads or raised their voice, but Bhat’s killing has shaken them.

“We are living in fear and want relocation to a safe place until the situation improves in the Valley,” a Pandit protestor said while adding that they are going to resign en-masse from their jobs if the authorities fail to relocate them.

The protesters demand their relocation to safe environments in the wake of a spurt in the attacks on the minority community members in the Valley.