The stories shown in movie #kashmirifiles are true ones. Although, for the sake of movie they are clubbed together. The man who was killed in rice drum was B. K Ganjoo, a telecommunication engineer living in Chota Bazar. He was literally killed while hiding in rice drum.
The terrorists located him on the signal of a women in neighbourhood. After killing Mr. Ganjoo terrorists said “let the rice soak in your blood and let your children eat it. Ah what a tasty meal it will be” as remembered by his wife.
As the terrorists were leaving Mrs Ganjoo asked them to kill her as well but the terrorists replied “No, someone should be left to wail over his dead body”
Story of Sarvanand Kaul 'Premi' :-
The man who was shown hiding other Kashmiri pandits in his house was a renowned Kashmiri poet and scholar Mr. Sarvanand Kaul 'Premi'. Mr Premi was secular to the core. He kept a rare manuscript of Koran in his prayer room.
After his retirement, he had taught for free for three months a years in two schools, one run by an Islamic and other a Hindu educational society. April 29 1990, three men barged into Premi's house and asked Mr. Premi to pack all family valuables like Jewellery in a suicase and
...come with them. Mr Premi's son, 27 year old, Virendra Kaul insisted on accompanying him. Both father and son duo left home and never returned. Next day police found their bodies hanging on a tree. Nails were hammered between the eyebrows, where tilak is applied.
Most Gruesome case was of Girija Tickoo who was shown as Sharda Pandit in the Movie.
Girija was a lab assistant in a school. She hailed from a poor family from Bandipora, in North Kashmir. When terrorist attacks started. Her family had migrated to Jammu along with other pandits.
But family had no other income source apart from salary of Girija. therefore, she used to come to Bandipora to collect her salary. In April 1990, she was asked not to come again. but she needed money so badly that she came again in May. She was abducted from her neighbor's house.
where she was staying, as the owner of house who happened to be her father's friend. Four man abducted her on the signal of owner of the house. Few days later her mutilated, chopped body was found by the roadside.
Years later, her story was shared by a top commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen with a resident of Bandipora. He said, Girija was abducted and immediately blindfolded. Then gangraped by four men in a moving taxi. As the men were conversing with each other,
Girija recognised the voice of one of the men, named Aziz. As the identity of terrorists was revealed and Aziz was known to Girija. He got worried. In the act of final barbarism, they took Girija to wood processing unit and cut her alive into pieces. Horrible !!
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Few years ago, I read ‘Our Moon Has Blood Clots’ written by @rahulpandita Which described the horrible events of 1990. If you want to know more about plight of Kashmiri pandits. Do read that book.
There are many stories needs to be shared which movie couldn’t tell.
Story of @rahulpandita is also very interesting and exposes the functioning of intellectual mafia ecosystem. First he authored a book ‘Hello Bastar’ in 2011 which was sympathetic to Naxalites. He was celebrated and encouraged in intellectual circles. He was a hero.
It was said, he is the ray of hope in India. He was invited in elites circles, literature festivals, seminars, debates and discussions to elaborate more about how Indian State is oppressing tribals in Bastar and how naxals are fighting for social justice.
On Feb 2, 1990 Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’ killed a young Kashmiri pandit businessman Satish Tickoo. Satish was known to Bitta and used to give lift to Bitta on his scooter. He confessed the killing in an TV interview.
Bitta Karate was arrested in June 1990 and spent 16 years in jail but he was not convicted. He was released on bail. While releasing him on bail the judge remarked
“The court is aware of the fact that the allegations levelled against the accused are of serious nature…
…and carry punishment of death sentence or life imprisonment but the fact is prosecution has shown total disinterest in arguing the case, which is in complete violation of article 21 of the constitution”