Slain school principal, teacher cremated
Sikh community members stage protests in Sgr
Srinagar/Jammu: The last rites of Supinder Kour — the slain principal of a government school in Eidgah locality of the city — were performed on Friday amidst a protest by members of the Sikh community here. Meanwhile, the Jammu teacher shot dead by militants was also cremated at Jammu.
The funeral of Kour was performed by the family and relatives at a cremation ground in Karan Nagar area in Srinagar.
Hundreds of members of the community assembled at the residence of Kour in Aloochi Bagh area and took out a protest march from there, carrying her mortal remains on a stretcher.
The protesting members of the community — both old and young alike — covered the distance from Aloochi Bagh to Jehangir Chowk on foot, shouting slogans demanding justice for the victim shot dead by militants at the school along with her colleague Deepak Chand.
The police tried to persuade the protesters to stop their march, but to no avail.
They marched towards the Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir government, and held a silent sit-in there.
The community members said the protest march and the sit-in was held to demand justice for Kour.
Later, the family members took Kour’s mortal remains to the cremation ground where her last rites were held and she was bid a tearful adieu.
Meanwhile, the last rites of Kashmiri migrant teacher Deepak Chand were performed at a cremation ground amid the presence of several thousand people including top leaders of political parties.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as the funeral pyre of the Chand was lit at Shaktinagar cremation ground.
A pall of gloom descended as Chand’s mortal remains arrived from Srinagar at his Patoli home around midnight with hundreds of people waiting outside.
Chand’s mother Kanta Devi and wife Anuradha were inconsolable.
“Just give me my Deepak back. I don’t want a job. I don’t want anything,” a wailing Kanta Devi said.
Kanta Devi, who along with family migrated from Kashmir in 1990 during emergence of militancy, said the government could not ensure security of her son, who had to work in Kashmir for a living and paid with his life.
Anuradha said “We want nothing, I want my husband back. Can the government bring him back?”
Chand’s cousin Vicky Mehra said Kashmir is “a hell not a heaven for us”.
“It is the return of the 1990 situation in the valley. Selective killings of Hindus forced Kashmiri Pandits to run away from Kashmir. It is the same situation today. The government has failed to protect us,” he said.
He said he tried to call Chand on his mobile after he came to know about the incident, but it was not reachable. “Later some militant picked up a call from the family and threatened us too,” he claimed.
Jammu & Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina, who attended the funeral, told reporters that a befitting reply will be given to the perpetrators of these heinous attacks on unarmed and innocent minority people in Kashmir by militants of the resistance front (TRF).
“It was a conspiracy to engineer targeted killings of minorities. Those militants, their supporters involved in these heinous crimes, will be eliminated,” Raina said.
He claimed these incidents are the result of the frustration due to speedy development and youth engagement in Kashmir.
Kour and Chand were shot dead at point blank range inside a government school in the heart of Srinagar on Thursday, taking to seven the number of civilians killed by militants in Kashmir Valley in five days. Of the seven, four were from minority communities and six of the deaths took place in Srinagar.
Press Trust of India
