NHRC directs J-K administration to take action on complaint about targeted killings of minorities

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to take appropriate action on a complaint moved by a Supreme Court lawyer seeking direction to provide compensation/damages to the families of four civilians belonging to the minority Hindu/Sikh communities, who were brutally killed in targeted killings in Kashmir last year.

The NHRC also directed the authorities to provide adequate police protection to minority Hindu/Sikh communities in the union territory.

Commission on Tuesday communicated with complainant which states that "the complaint be transmitted to the authority concerned for such action as deemed appropriate. The authority concerned is directed to take appropriate action within 8 weeks associating the complainant/victim and to inform him/her of the action taken in the matter.

Complainant Alakh Alok Srivastava, Advocate-on-Record at Supreme Court in compliant with the NHRC sought the indulgence of the commission towards the " target killing and heart-wrenching plight of the minorities."

Complaint moved the court in October 2021 and stated that four innocent civilians belonging to the minority Hindu/Sikh communities were brutally killed in targeted killings in Kashmir.

He has mentioned incidents of the killing of Makhan Lal Bindroo and Virendar Paswan on October 5, 2021, and Satinder Kaur and Deepak Chand were killed on October 7, 2021.

Advocate Srivastava in the complaint stated that targeted killings have caused immense agony and panic amongst the minority Hindu and Sikh residents of Kashmir, which has, in turn, triggered a fresh wave of the exodus of Hindus and Sikhs from Kashmir, something which has not been witnessed since the onset of terrorism in Kashmir in the 1990s.

He said that even otherwise, the Sikh and Hindu minorities of Jammu and Kashmir are living in constant fear and insecurity, which is in flagrant violation of their rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity.

"The aforesaid human rights violations are, inter-alia, attributable to the negligence and failure of the Jammu and Kashmir administration in protecting the Hindu and Sikh minority residents of Kashmir," the advocate stated in the complaint.

He sought appropriate steps for the protection of human rights of the minority Hinduand Sikh residents of Kashmir.

He urged the Commission to call for a comprehensive report from "the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir" about the flagrant violation of human rights, targeted killings and exodus of minority Hindu and Sikh residents of Kashmir, including the "detailed reasons of negligence" on the part of the authorities in the prevention of such violations and "proposed remedial action" in this regard.

Advocate Srivastava had urged NHRC to direct the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, "to provide adequate police protection to the Hindu and Sikh residents of Kashmir" and to direct the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, "to provide compensation/ damages of Rs 1 crore each to the family members of the abovenamed deceased persons, who have been brutally killed in targeted killings" in Kashmir .

( With inputs from ANI )