Rahul Bhat (1989-2022), an immigrant employee of the Pandit Government in Kashmir, was shot dead by a group of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists at his office in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 12, 2022.
Wiki/Biography & Career
Rahul Bhat was born in 1989 (died 33 years old) in Sangram Pora, Beerwah, Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir . His hometown is Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. In 1997, when Rahul was eight, his family fled the Kashmir Valley and moved to Jammu for safety; after Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists came to their village, handpicked seven young men and shot them at close range. After them, they decided to leave their hometown. In Jammu, they live in Durga Nagar in Bantarab. At the age of 21, Rahul started working as a clerk in the revenue department of the Tehsil office in Budgam. He included the job in a special employment program for migrant workers. After the job, his family decided to return to their hometown and started living in the immigrant colony of Sheikh Pora in Budgam.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′8″
Hair color: dark brown
Eye color: brown
family and caste
Rahul Bhatt is a Kashmiri Pandit.
Parents and siblings
Rahul Bhatt’s father Bitaji Bhatt is a retired Indian police officer. Bita retired as an ASI and was part of the security wing of former National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar. Little is known about his mother. He has a younger brother named Sunny Bhat who is also an Indian policeman.
Rahul Bhatt’s father Bita Ji Bhatt
Rahul Bhatt’s mother
wife and children
Rahul married Meenakshi Raina Bhat in 2010. He has an 8-year-old daughter named Gungun.
Rahul Bhat and his wife Meenakshi Raina Bhat
Rahul Bhatt’s daughter Gungun
religion
He believes in Hinduism.
targeted killing
On May 12, 2022, Rahul Bhat was attacked by a group of terrorists at close range inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town of Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir Shoot him. After the incident, he was rushed to SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, where doctors declared him dead.
Rahul Bhat was admitted to SMHS hospital in Srinagar after being shot by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists
Rahul’s wife Meenakshi Bhat revealed in an interview that she had a phone call with Rahul just 10 minutes before the attack. She said,
He is based in the Washington, D.C. office. I spoke to him at 3.45pm, 10 minutes before the attack, but did not feel any threat. I was at a birthday party when I spoke to him and he spoke to me normally. Later, I got a call that he had been attacked and had been shot in the shoulder, but I was relieved that he would be rescued. But they took him away from me and I was left alone with nothing. “
Based on preliminary investigation, Srinagar police revealed that two terrorists were involved in this extremely heinous crime. The police also revealed that the terrorists used pistols when committing the crime. In a media chat, Rahul’s wife Meenakshi Bhatt ruled out the possibility that some people in Bhatt’s office conspired with terrorists to kill him. She said,
He often said that everyone was nice to him and no one could hurt him. But no one protected him. They (terrorists) must have asked someone about him, otherwise how would they know. “
She further stated that her husband, a government employee at Chatura, had repeatedly pleaded with the local administration to shift him to the district headquarters as he felt unsafe at the Budgam office but despite repeated appeals, he was not transfer. Rahul’s father Bitta Ji Bhat in an interview demanded an investigation into the incident, saying:
First, they asked Rahul Bhatt who he was and then shot him. We want to ask. There is a police station 100 feet away. There must have been security in the office, but no one was there. They should check CCTV footage. “
Meenakshi Bhat in distraught state after Rahul Bhat’s death
News of his death at the hands of terrorists deeply shocked his friends and colleagues. His colleagues remember him as a man of humane qualities and supreme kindness. Talking to media persons, a senior woman officer in Rahul’s department described him as:
He was a dedicated official during the difficult times when Kashmir was blocked for a month after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. “
She further said,
He worked around the clock to help others and I couldn’t come to terms with his death. “
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in a media chat condemned the barbaric killing of Rahul Bhatt and said:
I strongly condemn the brutal killing of Rahul Bhatt by terrorists in Budgam. Those behind this despicable terrorist attack will not go unpunished. The JK government stands with the family of the deceased at this sad time. “
protest
Soon after the news of Rahul’s death spread, several workers, including those from the majority community, took to the roads of Jammu and Kashmir to protest against the killing of Rahul Bhatt by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
A man paints a painting to pay tribute to Rahul Bhatt
Locals expressed anger over Rahul’s killing and demanded a safe environment for Kashmiri Hindus living in the area. A local said in an interview with the media,
Kashmiri Pandits should be given shelter in one place and provided with jobs and security in nearby areas. Only then will they be safe. Naturally, it is targeted killing. Breaking into the office and looking for him was a targeted killing. This was done to prevent them from returning to Kashmir again. “
The protesters usually include Kashmiri Pandit workers from the Sheikhpora-Budgam settler colony. They first assembled in the Sheikhupora area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district and were stopped by a group of policemen on their way to Srinagar International Airport.
Kashmiri Pandits during protests against Rahul Bhatt’s killing
They chanted slogans demanding the arrest of Rahul Bhatt’s murderers and strict punishment for them. They said they have informed the government and police that the Lieutenant Governor should visit the spot and provide them with an assurance of protection and ensure that the killers involved in Rahul Bhatt’s killing are not spared. Police asked the protesters to disperse but they refused to move and insisted on moving ahead, before police used tear gas and mild lathi charges to disperse a protest by Kashmiri Pandit employees.
Kashmiri Pandits block highways in Jammu and Kashmir as part of protests against Rahul Bhatt’s killing
last rites
The last rites of Rahul Bhatt were performed at Bantarab Crematorium on May 13, 2022 in the presence of his family members and police. Mukesh Singh, Jammu ADGP, Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Jammu Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa were present at the crematorium to attend Last rites.
Rahul Bhatt’s last rites held in Jammu
Rahul Bhatt’s murder revenge
Days after Rahul Bhatt was brutally murdered, his killers were eliminated by security forces in Bandipora. Two terrorists were killed in a joint operation between the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police. The terrorists were identified as Faisal and Uqasa.
Facts/Trivia
- Rahul was reportedly one of the first three Kashmiri Pandits to return to Kashmir after getting government jobs under the Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Scheme in 2010.
- Bhat is the second Kashmiri Pandit to be shot dead since 2021; Makhan Lal Bindroo, a prominent member of the Kashmiri Pandit community, was shot dead by militants on October 6, 2021. Between August 2019 and March 2022, around 14 people, including Rahul Bhatt, belonging to Jammu and Kashmir’s minority Hindu community, were killed by militants across Kashmir. The target group mainly includes prominent businessmen, sarpanch and block development committee members of Jammu and Kashmir.
- As locals began protesting against the killing of Rahul Bhatt in Jammu and Kashmir, militants issued a threatening letter to the public asking immigrants and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh operatives to leave the valley or face death. The letter signed by the terror group’s commander directly targets the Kashmiri Pandit community, saying there is no space for Kashmiri Pandits to “want another Israeli in Kashmir to kill Kashmiri Muslims”.
- Reacting to the threat letter, Rahul Bhatt’s cousin Ashwini Bhatt called on the Indian government to respond appropriately to the militants. He said,
We need to see the light and ensure that terrorism is eliminated and no mercy is shown to any terrorist. “
- On May 18, 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir government handed over Rs. Financial assistance of $500,000 to the family of Rahul Bhat. The government also approved the compassionate appointment of Bhatt’s widow Meenakshi Raina with a pay scale of Rs. Government Higher Secondary School, Nowabad, Jammu 14,800-47,100.
Jammu divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar hands over appointment letter and ex-gratia amount to family of slain government employee Rahul Bhat in Jammu
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education