1998 Chapnari massacre
1998 Chapnari massacre was a massacre of 25 Hindu villagers in Chapnari (also called Champanari by some sources) village in Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir on 19 June 1998 allegedly attributed to Pakistan backed insurgent groups by Indian officials.[1][2]
Background
| Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir |
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| 1998 |
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In 1990 the bulk of 250,000 Kashmiri Pandits left Kashmir after being selectively targeted by the militants.[3] Most are packed in refugee camps in Jammu.
The Attack
The victims were accompanying two marriage parties when they were attacked. Police sources said that five members were spared.[4][5] Among those who survived Chapnari were the three primary school teachers and the bride.[5]
Aftermath
Chief minister Farooq Abdullah strongly condemned the attack & described it as "yet another barbaric act of Pakistan-sponsored militants in Jammu and Kashmir". India's Home Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, who had recently assumed overall control of Indian policy in the state, described the killing of the wedding guests as 'a clear attempt at ethnic cleansing and said responsibility for the attack, and the other massacres of Hindus, rested with Pakistan.[1]
In September 1998 Abid Hussain of Lashkar-e-Taiba who was the main accused in this massacre was shot dead by Indian security forces.[6] Another accused Attullah of Hizbul Mujahideen was arrested in June 2004.[7]
References
- 1 2 Gunmen Kill 25 Hindus in Kashmir Attacks, The New York Times, 1998-06-20
- ↑ World: South Asia Wedding massacre in Kashmir, BBC, 1998-06-19
- ↑ Globalsecurity.org Article on Kashmir, GlobalSecurity.org
- ↑ 25 gunned down in Doda district, Rediff.com,1998-06-19
- 1 2 Chapnari's Terror, Frontline (magazine), 1998-07-04
- ↑ Chapnari main accused killed, The Indian Express, 1998-09-19
- ↑ Chapnari massacre accused held, The Tribune, 2004-06-14