Nadimarg (Kashmir): Anger against police brewed among the residents of this sleepy
remote hamlet where militants gunned down 24 Kashmiri Pundits in the wee hours of
March 24 as they said had police arrived on time, lives of many could have been
saved.
"I pleaded with police to come to the rescue of the village. I also managed to sent
some messages to nearby Army camps but all my pleas fell on deaf ears," Ramesh Koul,
one of the survivors of the massacre, told visiting reporters.
It took police four hours to reach the scene of massacre after being informed about
the movement of terrorists, Koul lamented.
Located on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, Nadimarg had a population of 52 Pundits
comprising 11 families.
Now the hamlet presented the picture of a holocaust with half of its population
dead, Koul said.
He said militants dressed in Army uniform came to the village at about 22:00 hours
(IST) night and asked the people to come out of their houses.
"We were told that the Army is going to conduct a search operation as they had
information about presence of militants in the village," Koul said.
He said he sensed something foul about the uniformed men and escaped under the cover
of darkness to make his way to Zainapora police station, some six kilometres away,
at 23:00 hours (IST).
"There is no government. When we sought increased protection, nobody listened to us.
Now we are dead, everybody is coming here ... I do not know what for," Koul asked
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad who came
to offer condolences to the bereaved families.
Chandji, who escaped death by hiding himself inside the smoke chimney, said there
were around seven militants who were speaking Urdu and Kashmiri.
"The inmates were asked to assemble outside for identification parade. I did not go
out and hid myself in the chimney. A few hours later, I heard the sound of
gunshots."
Another survivor, Deep Kumar, said the community leaders had approached the office
of deputy commissioner, Anantnag, for beefing up security in the hamlet as they had
information about a likely terrorist attack.
"But we got a strange reply from the officer. He said if nobody has harmed you in
the past 13 years, who will do it now," Kumar said.
Chandiji's mother complained that the five police personnel posted for security of
villagers did not take any action when the militants attacked the
village.
"They fled the scene immediately. Had they opened fire even aimlessly, many of the
dead would have been alive now," she screamed.
Of the 28 people alive in the hamlet, 16 survived the terror attack due to presence
of mind. The remaining were not in the village at the time of the
incident.
People from a neighbouring village said they failed to understand how the incident
took place despite strong presence of security forces in the area.
PTI
