What Do The Survivors Say

Chuni Lal (60)- "When I heard a knock, I opened the door and saw some gunmen asking us to come out for searches being conducted to flush out the militants. They were wearing Army uniforms and spoke Urdu and Kashmiri. Later all of us were asked to assemble outside the police post and the indiscriminate firing started. When one of them said he (Chuni Lal) is still alive I pretended to be dead and thus survived".

Deep, son of Chuni Lal- "We had approached the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, on Saturday (22 March) and told him that we had some apprehensions and asked for security to be strengthened. But he refused to listen."

Bhushan Lal- “The security was insufficient. They (the police) surrendered their weapons and were nothing but lame ducks".

Som Nath- “The gunmen, dressed in army uniforms were carrying torches and introduced themselves as troops. They asked all the family members to vacate their homes and assemble near the Chinar tree in the main compound. They slapped me twice and asked me to show them other family members. We were only three people putting up in the house at that time. They took my wife outside and ordered her to join other people in the compound. My son smelt a rat and hid himself under the cot. I and my wife were asked to join the other people. But we gave them a slip and hid ourselves behind the haystack. The armed men then searched the whole house and broke open all the cupboards. They also took away cash of Rs 1.7 lakhs and other costly items before fleeing from the scene”.

Phoola- “The gun men were speaking pure Kashmiri. I heard one of them call a resident of this village by name. They told us that they were armymen and had to search the houses. They asked everybody to come out. I came out with my husband and daughter. But when they asked us to line up infront of the police picket, I slipped away towards the bushes. Within seconds, they started firing indiscriminately. And when they (the gunmen) left the village, I looked for my family. My husband and daughter were lying dead but my son Chandji had also escaped. He had hidden inside the house".

Mohan Lal Bhat (19)- "I was about to go to sleep when there was a knock at the door. My mother opened the door and there were three men wearing army uniforms, helmets and "bullet proof" vests. Two of them were bearded and they asked everybody to come out. One of them spoke in Kashmiri, which roused suspicion and when my father tried to resist, they dragged him out. Then they dragged out my mother, sister and uncle. I heard the commotion on the door and hid behind a tin sheet upstairs. Within fifteen minutes I heard gun shots and wails. They had left and reached near the school (a few dozen metres away) when they heard the cries of a child. I heard one of them shout to others that there is some work still to be done. Then I heard a gun shot. Later I got to know it was two year old Monu”.

Sanjay Koul- "We are in a dilemma that why were our people killed so ruthlessly. We requested the authorities several times that the security was not adequate and demanded more security, but they never heard us. Now, the result is in front of us. Our families have been eliminated.

Pran Nath Bhat (38)- We stayed back in 1990 after they (local Muslims) pleaded with us not to go, assuring us that we would be safe. But after this tragedy, they (local Muslims) want us to leave because even they don't feel safe here anymore".

Chand Kumar Bhat S/o Bansi Lal- "These people (Rashtriya Rifles men) were just 3 km away from here but took six hours to arrive after the killers left. Now they want us to stay back. How can we feel safe here? The government has said that if migrate, no aid will be given. We tell them we don't need you, we can take care of ourselves" .  

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