J&K government constitutes SIT to probe Rahul Bhat’s murder as demand for justice grows

In a key development, the Jammu and Kashmir administration formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the murder of the Chadoora Tehsil Office employee on Friday. The employee, Rahul Bhat, was shot in his Tehsil office by two terrorists on May 12, after which he was rushed to the SMHS Hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, Security forces have gunned down the three terrorists, two of whom were involved in the killing of Rahul Bhat. The responsibility for the terror attack was taken by Kashmir Tigers, one of the many terrorist organizations that have cropped up after the abrogation of Article 370. 

J&K LG Manoj Sinha meets family of Rahul Bhat 

The development comes hours after Jammu & Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha paid a visit to the family. He met the family members, including Rahul's daughter, his wife, and his parents. In a tweet uploaded thereafter, he said, "Met the relatives of Rahul Bhat and assured justice to the family. In this hour of grief, the government stands firmly with Rahul's family. Terrorists and their supporters will have to pay a very heavy price for their heinous acts."

Rahul is the second Kashmiri Pandit, the first one was chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo, to have been killed in a span of a few months. Mass resignation by more than 350 Kashmiri Pandit Prime Minister Package Employees in Kashmir has been sent to Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha. Kashmiri Pandit employees and families living in the Kashmir Valley protest against the LG administration over Rahul Bhat's killing. "If the Administration can lathi charge and tear gas the public, then could they not have caught the terrorist yesterday?" said Aparna Pandit, a protester.