Kashmiri Pandit family accuses neighbour of stone-pelting on Diwali

A Kashmiri Pandit couple staged a sit-in on a road in Kulgam district, accusing their neighbours of pelting stones on their house on Diwali to force them out of the Valley, a claim dismissed by the police which said it was a case of “land dispute”.

A video circulated by a local news channel showed former district agriculture officer Avtar Krishan and his wife sitting on the main road and blocking the passage of vehicles by a wooden log.

They accused three brothers living in their neighbourhood of pelting stones on the house to force them out of the village.

Pandit alleged that his house was attacked after he lit candles to celebrate Diwali on Thursday.

“I have not migrated. I have stayed back in the valley and I’m living with dignity among the Muslims,” he said, demanding protection from the state government.

He said “barring this family of goons, the rest of Muslim community have always been good to us”.

The video also featured an elderly Kashmiri Pandit woman who accused the neighbours of harassment and causing damage to the boundary wall of her house.

“My children want me to come to Jammu but I feel peace in my land here,” she said wiping off tears.

Senior superintendent of police Shridhar Pantil said he along with deputy commissioner Talat Pervez  met Pandit in Ratnipora on Saturday.

He said Pandit and his neighbour were both eyeing a piece of state land and had a quarrel over its possession lately.

“We have already registered a case on a complaint by him and started investigation,” he said, adding that action would be taken as per law.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman said the incident occurred on October 19 between Pandit and Naseer Ahmad Bhat and his brothers in Renipora village.

“Immediate help was provided to the families through the Police Control Room by sending a team from Kulgam police station,” he said.

A case under the Ranbir Penal Code, including wrongful restraint, criminal assault to outrage modesty of a woman and endangering life was registered on the same day, the spokesman said.

Quoting preliminary investigation, he said it was found that the matter was a dispute over state land which belonged to neither party.

Quote - I have not migrated. I have stayed back in the valley and I’m living with dignity among the Muslims. Avtar Krishan, the victim