Chotta Bazaar incident one of bloodiest massacres in IIOJK

Srinagar, June 11 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the gory incident in Chotta Bazaar, Srinagar, when Indian troops slaughtered 32 civilians in the locality is one of the bloodiest massacres in the territory.

According to a report released by Kashmir Media Service, on this day in 1991, the Indian paramilitary CRPF troops after an alleged clash with unknown attackers at Zainakadal in the city went berserk, and opened indiscriminate firing with their automatic weapons all the way from their camp at Syed Mansoor to the densely populated downtown area of Srinagar, Chotta Bazaar.

The report further said that with blood in their eyes, the troops barged into the shops, gathered people outside on the streets and killed them randomly. Four people were shot in a motor mechanics’ workshop and four others were shot outside a medical college. Some rickshaw drivers and bystanders were also shot by the troops. The indiscriminate firing by the forces’ personnel took a massive toll of 32 lives of innocent civilians. Around 22 persons were also critically injured in the incident. The bullets hit shopkeepers, passerby, a 75-year old woman and a child of ten years age.

According to the reports published in The Kashmir Times next day, the entire area from where the dead bodies were picked and brought to the police control room by 8 pm bore blood stains, the KMS report added.

It pointed out that this blood curdling incident still causes a deep stir inside the hearts of the scores of bereaved families whose kiths and kins were massacred. Even Amnesty International then expressed its serious concern on the horrific incident and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter, the report said. It maintained that, 30 years on but memories of Chotta Bazaar massacre are still fresh in the Kashmiris’ minds and the victims are still awaiting justice.

The report said that history of IIOJK is littered with many Chotta Bazaar like carnages as Indian troops have carried out dozens of massacres in IIOJK since 1990. The aim of committing Chotta Bazaar like carnages is to instill fear among the Kashmiris, it added.

It said, massacres in IIOJK are ugly blots on the face of so-called Indian democracy and the international community must take notice of Kashmiris’ genocide by India.

The report maintained that bold and resilient Kashmiris were determined to carry on freedom struggle against all odds, adding that unparalleled sacrifices of the Kashmiri people will never go waste.