Police, paramilitary and army personnel present on the spot cleared the passage for Singh who was driven to Jammu. (File)
Angry mourners on Friday heckled Union Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, during the cremation of the bodies of BJP leader Anil Parihar and his elder brother Ajit Parihar, who were killed by unidentified gunmen on Thursday night in Kishtwar district. Security force personnel present at the cremation spot had a tough time pacifying the irate mob as Union minister Jitendra Singh was escorted away amid sloganeering and shouting.
“Apney kis ke barose par humey jahan chorah hai,” (on whose responsibility have you left us here) an angry mourner asked Singh when he was leaving the Choughan Ground after the cremation. “Ek baar to aap vote ke time par aye they aur dosri bar aaj aye ho. Jahan par Hinduon ko chun chun ke mara ja raha hai, aap log kaya kar rahey ho,” (The first time you came was during elections and the second time is now. Hindus are being singled out and killed here, what are you doing?) asked another as senior police officers accompanying Singh, tried to pacify them. “Humney vote diya hai, humey poochney ka haq hai,” (We have voted, we have the right to ask) he said.
The women among the irate mourners prompted police officials and Singh’s personal staff to ask the minister to leave the spot. However, when he started proceeding towards his vehicle, the mob chased him, jeered at him and even banged on his vehicle. Some women even tried to sit in front of his vehicle to stop him.
Police, paramilitary and army personnel present on the spot cleared the passage for Singh who was then driven towards Jammu. The mob, presuming that Singh was taken to the government Dak Bungalow, followed him and held a sit-in at the main entrance, virtually gheraoing senior police and civil officers including IGP Jammu.
The army personnel cordoned off the area and made announcements asking them to leave in view of the curfew.
The deceased BJP leader’s cousin Ranjit Parihar claimed that the attack on both the brothers was planned. Some locals had given information about both the brothers, he said, adding that a boy following them saw the assailants waiting for the two brothers at a corner of a lane. They shot them in the head, as soon as they appeared, he claimed.
Thereafter, they escaped from the area. However, they could not be identified as there was darkness in the area in view of powercut, he added.
Sources said that police have detained for questioning two men who were posted as Personal Security Officers (PSOs) of the BJP leader. Parihar was on ‘hit list’ of terrorists. The PSOs were not accompanying Parihar at the time of the incident, they said.
This far off hilly town of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday wore a deserted look with the Army and police moving in strength, strictly enforcing curfew restrictions throughout the day.
A pall of gloom descended over Tapal Mohalla where both the brothers lived. They were returning home after closing their shop at that time.