Srinagar, Aug 24: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday termed the fresh threats to Kashmiri Pandit employees as “highly concerning” and directed the security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to trace the source of the intimidation.
“The government should not be under threat, but the law and order, police and intelligence agencies should not take these things lightly,” CM Omar told reporters here.
“They should be fully aware of where these threats are coming from and all of our employees should be kept safe. This is a very big responsibility of the police,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came amid reports of fresh threat posters circulating on social media, targeting Kashmiri Pandit employees working under the Prime Minister’s Employment Package in the Valley.
Recalling the targeted killings of minority community members in the past, CM Omar said the administration must act proactively to prevent any repeat of such incidents.
“Four years ago some Pandit employees were targeted and we had to face a lot of loss,” he said.
Asserting that the issue was not his government’s “direct responsibility”, the Chief Minister said the matter falls under the purview of the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.
“This is not our direct responsibility. This is the responsibility of the Honourable LG. My only advice to the law and order administration is that this should not be taken lightly. There should be a thorough investigation into this,” he added.
Earlier this month, authorities had advised some Kashmiri Pandit employees to work from home as a precautionary measure after a Pakistan-based terror outfit allegedly issued threats through social media posts.
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) has been separately probing several cases of targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits from the 1990s, including the Wandhama massacre and the killings of Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo.
Members of the community have recently appealed to the administration for enhanced security, asserting that they would “neither be scared nor run away” from such threats.
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