Islamic militants force the 8th exodus of Kashmiri Pandits [ Jammu and Kashmir, India]

[ Reported as seen]

More than 300 Kashmiri Hindu families have fled from their homes in the Kashmir valley in the fear of being killed by the radical Islamists, most of whom have illegally entered the Kashmir valley.

The panic has been spread after a 36-year-old, Hindu school teacher, was shot dead in the Kulgam district.
The targeted killings of Hindus continue in the valley from the same community of the perpetrators.
Avtar Krishan Bhat, president of a Kashmiri Pandit colony in Baramulla, said that around half of the 300 families living in the area had fled since Tuesday.

“They were terrified after yesterday’s killing. We will also leave by tomorrow as we are waiting for a government response,” he said. “We had asked the government to relocate us outside Kashmir.”
According to the residents, the police had sealed off an area in Srinagar and stepped up security around places where Kashmiri Pandit government employees live.

Adding to the misery of Kashmiri Pandits, The local administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on families fleeing. However, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, last month assured Kashmiri Pandits that measures would be taken for their security.

Last month, Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit working at the tehsil office was shot dead inside his office, leading to protests by other employees from the Kashmiri Pandit community who demanded re-location to safer areas outside the Kashmir valley.

On 31st May, a Hindu Rajasthani manager, Vijay Kumar was shot dead in a bank.
All of the new incidents point towards yet another exodus of the rightful owners of Kashmir: the Kashmiri Pandits.