- Thursday, February 27, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HUNDREDS of government employees posted in the Kashmir Valley in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir took out a march in Jammu on Thursday (2) seeking immediate transfer to their respective home districts.
The protesting employees were carrying placards supporting their demand and pictures of Rajni Bala, a school teacher from the Kashmiri Pandit community who was shot dead by extremists at a school in Kulgam district of Kashmir on Tuesday (31).
The protesters assembled under the banner of ‘All Jammu-based reserved categories employees association’ and said they will not resume their duties as the government has failed to prevent targeted killings and give them a secure environment.
“Nearly 8,000 employees from different districts of Jammu are working in Kashmir under inter-district transfer policy and we are not going to return and resume our duties in the present atmosphere. We are serving there for the last 15 years but are feeling insecure and tense in view of the spurt in the targeted killings,” Ramesh Chand, a teacher posted in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, told reporters, the Press Trust of India reported.
“We are frustrated by the deteriorating security situation as nobody, including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs are safe there. Anyone can become a victim of terrorists anytime,” he said and referred to the killing of bank manager Vijay Kumar from Rajasthan in the same district of southern Kashmir on Thursday (2).
Another employee Anjana Bala, a teacher posted in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, said if the government can abolish decade-old Article 370 in August 2019, what stops them from making minor changes in the transfer policy and relocating them to their home districts.
In the latest incident of unabated targeted killings in the Valley, Kumar was gunned down by suspected militants, according to the police.
He was reportedly shot by the assassins at the Areh Mohanpora village in Kulgam and was rushed to a hospital in a critical state. The doctors declared him dead.
“Terrorists fired upon a bank employee (manager) at Ellaqie Dehati Bank at Areh Mohanpora in Kulgam district. He received grievous gunshot injuries in this terror incident. He is a resident of Hanumangarh Rajasthan. Area cordoned off. Further details shall follow,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted.
The opposition Congress in Jammu and Kashmir condemned the killing and lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for its alleged failure to ensure people’s safety and security.
Kumar’s death is the eighth targeted killing in the Valley since May 1.
[With PTI inputs]
