Victims of a bloody massacre in Kashmir on Thursday cried government apathy on the anniversary of the killings of 35 Hindus by militants.
Kulhand (J-K), May 3 : Victims of a bloody massacre in Kashmir on Thursday cried government apathy on the anniversary of the killings of 35 Hindus by militants.
Villagers, who have formed self-defence committee ever since, accused the government of not providing them adequate security despite such a big incident.
Girdhari Lal, a villager of Kulhand, where 22 young men and children were gunned down, said the arms used by committee members were obsolete.
"This place is still in darkness. Look at our VDCs (village defence councils). These people do not even have proper arms. How will they fight militants like this?" asked Lal after attending a prayer meet in remembrance of the victims.
Lal said many Pandits, as the Hindus are called in the Kashmir Valley, have even fled the village. Contrary to this, security forces claim to have brought the perpetrators of the incident to justice.
"This is an absolutely wrong that there are no VDCs. There is one company of security forces stationed in Kulhand. Secondly, in that massacre, we had arrested one-person and his case is going on in the court. And thirdly, the main accused in the case, Ashraf Gani was neutralised nearby and killed in an encounter," said Manohar Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Doda.
"Since the incident took place last year, we have increased the security of the village. Intensive patrolling is still going on by security forces. The villagers wanted to make a village defence council and we have encouraged them in that also," added Abdul Majid Wani, a politician.
In one of the bloodiest killings in the recent years, rebels struck two remote Hindu-dominated mountainous villages in Doda District, some 170 km northeast of Jammu, in 2006.
No militant group has till date claimed responsibility for the attacks.
ANI