Kashmiri Pandits Seek Work From Home Extension Amid Renewed Terror Threats

ETV Bharat / bharat

Kashmiri Pandits Seek Work From Home Extension Amid Renewed Terror Threats

The minority community employees were told to stay home after posters threatened them and exposed intimate details such as names, phones down to street address

Security forces check a vehicle at a checkpoint in Kashmir (ETV Bharat)

ByMoazum Mohammad

Published :August 29, 2026 at 7:18 PM IST

Srinagar: Kashmir Pandit employees working in Kashmir have pressed for complete work from home provision for minority employees across the Kashmir Valley in the face of a spate of online threats targeting the community

The employees working across J&K government departments were verbally told to stay home after a threat letter on social media threatened them and exposed intimate details such as names, phones down to street address and vehicle numbers early this month. However, the threats have continued with a fresh poster threatening them following the reopening of old cases of Kashmiri Hindus killed in the Valley.

In 2010, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the J&K legislative assembly that 219 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the Valley. A Srinagar based Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti puts the killings at 399

The fresh threat, purportedly issued by a shadow group calling itself United Liberation Council (ULC), follows the reopening of investigation into the Wandhama massacre. The State Investigation Agency (SIA), a specialised unit of J&K police, has reopened investigations into the murder of 23 Kashmiri Pandits including nine women and four children. They were killed on January 25, 1998 in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

Since 2023, the SIA has opened old cases of KP killings including Tikka Lal Taploo, justice Neelkanth Ganjo, Sarla Bhat, Kashmiri Pandit poet-scholar Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son Virender Koul

But the latest threat poster also referred to Bijebehara, Gawkadal and Handwara massacres, demanding their reopening as well. It claimed that the exodus of migrant Pandits was a “pre-planned programme” carried out by the Indian government and accused members of the community of supporting it

Ranjan Jotshi, employed under the ‘PM package’ employment scheme in the Valley and vice president of the All Migrant Displaced Employees Association, said the fresh threat renewed fear psychosis among the community

“Many employees have joined duties as they apprehend getting showcase notice. But some are still not willing to resume duties due to fear psychosis triggered by a series of threat letters including the latest one following the reopening of the case,” he added. Citing an example, he said that participation at the Chota Amarnath temple in Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag was low due to fear

“Security is our main issue. Threat letters have disturbed us particularly when they reveal personal details like names, addresses and phones. We want to restrict our movement to avoid any risk,” he added. According to him, their movement on roads makes them more vulnerable as they have fixed routes and office timings

About 6000 KP employees working under the PM package in Kashmir stay in transit camps under security cover. Following the previous threat letters, they wrote to J&K chief secretary seeking setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for busting the network behind the threats and work from home among others

Sunny Raina, a migrant employee and president of All PM package employees Forum in Kashmir said they will meet the J&K chief secretary next week to press for the demands including work from home across the Valley for the migrant employees

“In north and south Kashmir, departments have verbally informed us to work from home. But we want complete work from home for all migrant employees across the Valley,”he told ETV Bharat

Raina said their old parents living outside the Valley are worried about their safety because the threat posters haven’t stopped

“The employees living as tenants are more worried about their safety. Their parents call them frequently as rumours too are in the air. We want the authorities to trace the vate details of employees reveal this is being done internally within the society.”

Source: www.etvbharat.com