Srinagar: A doctor from Kashmir who has been living in Kolkata for the past 22 years claimed that he had been asked to leave or face ‘dire consequences’ following the Pulwama attack on a CRPF bus on Jammu- Kashmir highway that killed 49 personnel, a report by PTI stated.
The doctor later decided to stay after the state government of West Bengal provided protection, the report said.
According to the report, the doctor, who did not wish to be named, said he was heckled but he had not paid much heed to the threats he had received initially. However, he grew concerned after some men gathered outside his residence and threatened to harm his daughter unless he “returned to Pakistan”.
On February 15, a day after the Pulwama attack, five men aged between 20 and 25 years came to his house after he returned home from his chamber, the doctor said, adding that they asked him to leave the city immediately and “go back to Pakistan as Kashmiris have no place in this country”, the report said.
“I was heckled by those men and threatened with dire consequences. Initially, I ignored those threats as I had never faced such a situation here in 22 years. The next morning, while I was leaving for my hospital, I again saw those men standing outside my house. They threatened me and said If I did not leave the city, my daughter would pay a heavy price,” he said, quoted in the report.
The doctor said that the threats sounded more serious this time and he even made up his mind to leave, the report said. However, before preparing to leave, the doctor tried reaching the West Bengal government as a last resort.
“I decided to inform Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the incident through social media platforms and posted a message on Facebook. I also left a message on the chief minister’s Facebook page,” he said, as per the report.
The next day, the doctor received a call from the chairperson of the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the PTI report said.
The official assured him of all help, he said.
Ananya Chakraborti, Chairperson of the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said, quoted in the report, that all steps were taken to ensure that the doctor’s family did not face any difficulty.
“I had called the doctor after I came to know about his Facebook post. I told him not to worry and everything will be taken care of. Police protection has been provided to the family,” she said, as per the report.
The doctor and his family were provided with round-the-clock police protection, Chakraborti said, adding that officers of nearby police station were calling him regularly to ensure his well being, the PTI report said.
“Initially, after the threat, I had decided to go back to Kashmir. But after receiving support from my neighbors and the administration, I have decided to stay back. The kind of love and respect I have received in Kolkata is unimaginable,” the doctor said, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Kashmiris living in many parts of India are receiving are receiving hateful text messages or termination letters for posting their opinion on social media platforms.
A mob had threatened to set a Dehradun college on fire if the institute didn’t terminate a Kashmiri dean. Abid Kuchay, college Dean of the Alpine Institute has been terminated.
“The college asked for it. I agreed for the betterment of the college,” he said. Abid’s resignation has been asked for his role of getting Kashmir students admitted in the college.
Moreover, four Kashmiri students were suspended on Saturday by the National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Rajasthan for sharing a WhatsApp status in which they were allegedly celebrating the Pulwama attack which left 49 CRPF personnel dead.
The second-year students — Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir — were suspended soon after they shared as a WhatsApp status allegedly celebrating the killings of the CRPF personnel in the attack.
Now, all four have been charged with sedition.
Earlier, Shridev Suman Subharti University in Dehradun suspended a Kashmiri student after his alleged WhatsApp chat regarding the Pulwama attack went viral.
Meanwhile, Aligarh Muslim University also suspended a Kashmiri student over a ‘highly objectionable tweet’.
Omar Saleem Peerzada, AMU PRO said: “We have come to know of the highly objectionable tweet. Taking immediate cognizance the student has been suspended by the university administration,” he said.
Moreover, 15-20 Kashmiri female students had locked themselves in a hostel room in Dehradun after a mob surrounded the campus area, demanding the management to ‘throw them out of their rooms’.
Shazia Hamid, one of the students, told Free Press Kashmir that she and other Kashmiri female students, fearing the mob, have locked themselves in a room.
Following Free Press Kashmir’s news story the women were provided safety by the Dehradun police who dispersed the crowd peacefully.
Earlier, former chief minister Omar Abdullah had appealed to the Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh to direct all state governments to take ‘special care of areas where Kashmiris as residing or studying.’
Following the reports of attacks on Kashmiris in various parts of India, Government of India on Saturday asked all the states to ensure safety and security of the students and people from Jammu and Kashmir.
