Members of the minority community continue to seethe in anger in Kishtwar even a day after the State Government managed to restore ‘cosmetic’ peace in the region.
The areas dominated by the minority community wore a deserted look as none of the shops, which were saved during rioting and violence on August 9, was thrown open by the traders in protest against the step-motherly treatment accorded by the district authorities.
The traders belonging to the minority community have decided not to throw open their shops in the area pending formal announcement of the compensation package by the State Government. “The shops belonging to the minority community will remain closed on Friday as well,” Ashok Parihar of Sanatam Dharam Sabha said.
On the other hand, the educational institutions also remained closed on Thursday in the area as the district administration relaxed curfew restrictions between 8 am and 7 pm. The day-long curfew relaxation passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from anywhere in the region. The biggest challenge for the district administration is smooth passage of Janmashtami celebrations. The district administration on Thursday interacted with members of the Sanatam Dharam Sabha in Kishtwar to review the preparations and security arrangements.
However, eerie silence prevailed in and around the areas looted and burnt down by the rioters after the Eid prayers on August 9. A large number of affected shopkeepers stepped out of their homes and visited the market places where they ran their businesses till a few days ago. Many of them broke down and wept inconsolably standing in front of their burnt shops.
During the intervening period of 13-day curfew, the district administration had cleared the debris in the area. Standing in front of his burnt property, a local businessman broke down and blamed the rioters for destroying his life savings. “I had built my business brick by brick in the last 10 years in Kishtwar and they have demolished everything in a few minutes without giving me the opportunity to salvage my savings,” the businessman told The Pioneer over phone.
In Jammu, the leaders of the BJP who were part of the all-party delegation exposed the intentions of the State Government by alleging that an attempt was made to shift the blame of violence in Kishtwar on the victims of the rioting which was witnessed after the Eid prayers.
The BJP leaders reiterated the demand for holding a CBI probe into the matter to unravel the bigger conspiracy of forcing the minorities to migrate from Kishtwar region. The BJP leaders also demanded shifting of the top cop of the J&K Police as he was accused by locals of having played a partisan role during the violence on August 9.
BJP leaders Nirmal Singh and Ashok Khajuria also warned the State Government not to harass party leader Sunil Sharma in the name of investigations in the case. They alleged that Sunil Sharma, who is already on the hit list of militants, has been stripped off his security cover. They raised their voice against disbanding of Village Defence Committees also.
Demanding full compensation for the losses of shops and other business establishments, the BJP leaders said that the hapless minorities of Kishtwar have been targeted from time to time and the successive Governments did not deem it necessary to compensate them.
They said that minorities of Kishtwar suffered damage to their 45 shops in 1993, 34 shops were put to arson in 1998 and in 2003 again minorities suffered damages to their 55 shops. Not only this, 57 shops were badly damaged in 2008 and again in 2013 their 90 shops and 70 vehicles have been destructed and damaged. The Government paid a paltry sum of Rs20,000 each and in 2003 an amount of Rs1 lakh in 2008. No compensation was paid earlier, the BJP leaders said.