The recent punishment to two of the most dreaded terrorists has been welcomed by and large by the peace loving people of India and they are hopeful that similar verdict should be pronounced to others who are in police net for their anti national activities.
While Waliullah Khan, an operative of the Bangladesh-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jehad al-Islami (HuJI) has been sentenced to death on Monday for the serial blasts in Varanasi in 2006(that claimed 20 lives), Yasin Malik is a separatist and the chief of the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and was sentenced to life imprisonment in a terror funding case last month.
Kashmiri Pandits welcome the verdict on Yasin Malik
Deepak Kachru, a Kashmiri Pandit (KP) living in Lucknow, feels that this is a welcome verdict and the community waits for even severe punishment for those involved in the genocide of the KPs and anti-national activities.
“We, as a community, had lost hope and were just living as any other Indian for the past 32 years. However, this (verdict) has come as a relief irrespective of the fact that Malik has got the punishment for some other crime (terror funding) and not for the killing of innocent Kashmiri Pandits. Anything less than a death sentence for a person who has killed many innocents, including Indian Air Force officers and raped women and children is not acceptable,” Deepak says.
There are many such murderers of the community. Although some are now behind the bars, the cases related to our community should be heard in fast track courts, he added.
Praising the central government led by PM Narendra Modi, Deepak said that the removal of Article 370 has come as a welcome relief not only for us but for the entire region and its people. There has been a substantial halt in the terror funding from across the border but these anti–nationals still have sympathizers amongst us only, he says.
“Earlier (before the abrogation of article 370 and the previous governments), these criminals were also enjoying all kinds of support from inside our own territory. The J&K region was having its own constitution and law and they, along with their sympathizers, did not recognised themselves as a part of India. However, we are thankful to the present government that it has taken such stern steps and ignited a hope in us as well as the people of the region. There is a substantial cut in terror funding, including money and weapons from cross border,” Deepak said.
We are happy that now a pro–people and pro Kashmiri Pandits government is at the centre and we have a lot of hope from them. Tourism and business is slowly reviving but looking into the recent incidents of the killings of innocent and the protest thereafter, it should be a matter of concern for the government and the authorities, he adds.
“The time is ripe, and the situation is much in our favour and if the government now fails to tap them once and for all, it will not be a surprise if they bounce back. Though such actions take time, the best what the government could do is to ensure more strict punishment (death sentence) to them to send a strong message to their sympathizers and their bosses sitting on the other side of the border,” Deepak, advises.
People Of UP Hail Death Sentence to Waliullah
Meanwhile people of Uttar Pradesh have also welcomed the death sentence to terrorist Waliullah Khan. Khan was the main accused in the serial blasts in the district court and the Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi in 2006 in which 20 people were killed and many were injured.
“This is one of the terrorist who was involved in Varanasi case. Those involved in other similar incidents in UP as well as in the country are behind the bars and expect a similar sentence for them, says Mukesh Kumar, a native of Varanasi.
We are proud to have a PM like Modi who has given a free hand to the security agencies to nab and freely investigate the cases that eventually lead to such severe punishment. We had seen the pace of investigations and the rate of conviction in the previous governments and we give full marks to this (BJP) government for its commitment, he adds.
“We all remember how shamefully the pervious chief minister Akhilesh Yadav approached the court in 2012 to wipe off case from such terror accused including Waliullah. However, we are thankful to the court that it not only `scolded’ them but also warned them”, Mukesh said.
Everyone remember what the court said – today you want all the cases whipped off against them. Tomorrow, it will not be a surprise that you will ask for a Padma Bhushan for them. We are also thankful to our new CM Adityanath Yogi who is sending shivers to all anti-national and anti-social elements ever since he took charge of the state in 2017, he added.
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