Guwahati: As condemnations started pouring over the killing of two teachers in Srinagar by Islamist terrorists recently, an Assam-based forum of nationalist citizens demands stringent punishment to the culprits involved with incidents of Jammu & Kashmir. Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) lamented that the shooting down of the non-Muslim teachers after separating them from the other staff is nothing but a rerun of Kashmiri Pandits’ tragedy in 1990.
Mentionable is that in the early hours of Thursday (October 7), four gun-toting radicals entered the premises of the government boy’s higher secondary school at Iddgah Sangam area of Srinagar and singled out the principal Supinder Kour and teacher Deepak Chand after compelling them to show their identity cards.
The terrorists then shot down the Sikh lady principal (Kour), a resident of the Alochi Bagh area in the city, and the Hindu teacher (Chand), a resident of Jammu locality, in cold blood. Within minutes, the rebels left the premises spreading shock waves to the citizens.
There are also reports that the anti-national elements identify the people who joined the last Independence Day celebrations on 15 August after the abrogation of Article 370 from J&K redefining it into a union territory. PPFA has urged Union home minister Amit Shah to take stern actions against the culprits as they propagate anti-Bharat agendas with violent means targeting the unarmed civilians.
“During the Nineties, many insurgents of northeast Bharat also banned the celebrations o I-Day and Republic Day in the region. They also threatened to target those who attend both auspicious occasions.
However, many nationalist citizens dared to disagree with the diktats of armed militants,” said the PPFA statement, adding that many members of the forum were termed as ‘enemy’ to locals.
However, the PPFA, along with a handful of organisations like Assam Public Works, Journalists’ Forum Assam, etc., started hoisting the Tri-colour, national flag at the premises of the local press club. Unfortunately, many editor-journalists of the region also took sides with the militants, though they later realised their mistakes and reformed themselves.
Meanwhile, while condemning the killings, Kashmir-based Bhartiya Janata Party leader Altaf Thakur stated that the assassination of unarmed teachers, who have nothing to do with politics, would yield nothing. He commented that the cowardly act deserves the highest form of condemnation. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the incident.
While condemned the killing, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha asserted that a befitting reply would be given to perpetrators of the heinous terror attacks on innocent people. He assured that the militants and their patrons would not succeed in disturbing peace, progress, and prosperity in J&K UT.
