It has been over a week that Islamic guerillas mowed down 38 Hindus in Doda and Udhmapur areas of Jammu and Kashmir. The scared Hindus are forced to migrate to safer areas as the state government has failed to provide adequate security cover to them.
Despite the claim of Congress led coalition government headed by chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that no migration has taken place from adjoining areas of Kulhand in Doda where terrorists killed 25 Hindus on May 1, 2006, reports say that nearly 50 Hindu families have fled their homes to Doda.
The migration followed after people noticed the movement of armed terrorists in nearby forest areas. The families migrated from Dhiran, Rooti, Dhandi, Dhar and Patar villages. DIG Police, Udhampur-Doda Range, Lalit Indu Mohanty has confirmed the migration. Earlier after the Doda attack, several Hindus gathered at Ramlila ground Doda demanding security cover failing which they had threatened to migrate, it was after assurance from Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who too hails from the district that people returned. But this fresh migration of Hindus has put question mark on seriousness of the state government to protect minorities of this mulsim majority state. Sources say that many Hindus from other areas of Doda too have fled fearing similar carnage in their areas.
Neku Ram from Sarthal Doda has come all the way to Jammu to look for work to support his family. He is planning to shift from his village in Kishtwar district. He visited his uncle staying in Belicharana shelter camps on banks of river Tawi on outskirts of Jammu. His uncle had already lost five family members in Prankote massacre of 1998.
?I am here to look for house and work for my family of seven, I am scared, I have already lost my cousins and uncles in massacre of 1998, I stayed back but now after this, I am determined to migrate and save my children?, said Neku. Already over 200 Hindu families are living at Belicharana camp after some major massacres of Hindus in 1998-2000.
The involvement of Pakistan in these two acts has been further established when Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee after his visit of Thawa in Kulhand and Basantgarh in Doda said that 59 terrorist training camps were still being run in Pakistan.
Even till the fling of this story on May 10, 2006, security forces foiled an infiltration bid in Poonch district. Two terrorists were killed in Pathri gali in Mendhar area along the Line of Control in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir. The recoveries made from the slain terrorists includes one AK-47 rifle, one AK-74 rifle, 10 AK magazines, 300 AK rounds, 13 hand grenades and one radio set (ICOM), said defence sources, adding that Rs 10,000 in Indian currency and Rs 420 in Pakistan currency were recovered. Another inefficiency of the government comes forth from the fact that it has provided rotten and obsolete 303 rifles to Village Defence Committees (VDCS) who had to fight against the terrorists'ssophisticated AK-47s and AK-56?s.
Village Defence Committees (VDC) were first launched in 1994 as the principal agency through which the people of Kashmir could defend against marauding cross-border terrorism. Mukhejee however did not give any assurance on this mater and said the whole issue was under examination.
The positive aspect however was when Mukherjee categorically ruled out any de-militarisation in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the main demands of moderate Hurriyat Conference, saying number of the troops will not be reduced in the State.
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