Kashmiri Pandit Activist Arrested Over Cyber-Terror Threats To J&K Employees

A Kashmir Pandit activist has been arrested for his alleged involvement in recent terrorist threats against Kashmiri Pandit employees in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rakesh Handoo was arrested in Haryana's Faridabad and charged under the stringent anti-terrorist and cyber-terror charges. 

In August, panic gripped Kashmir Pandit employees in Kashmir after purported threat letters against some employees with their names and contact details were circulated. Following threats and safety concerns of Pandit employees, hundreds of employees appointed under the Prime Minister's special employment scheme for Kashmiri Pandits were sent on administrative leave and asked to stay away from duties for almost three weeks. 

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"Police have got substantial and serious clues about his involvement. He has been booked under UAPA,'' said Sujit Kumar, Inspector General of Police. 

Around 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits have been given government jobs under the Prime Minister's special employment package rolled out in 2010. It was aimed at facilitating the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri pandits displaced from their homeland after the outbreak of the secessionist movement in 1990. 

In 2022, terrorists carried out targeted attacks, killing five Kashmiri Pandits. This led to massive protests by the PM package employees for seven months, demanding their transfer and posting at Jammu. While the government refused to post these employees in Jammu, they were shifted and posted at safer locations in Srinagar and other major towns of the valley. 

Following threats and targeted attacks on migrant workers in July and August, a major security crackdown was launched in which over 3,000 suspects were arrested. Police described the arrested persons as Over Ground Workers (OGWs), a term used for those covertly helping terrorists.

According to the grounds of arrest served to Handoos' wife on October 17, police have said that the accused has been arrested for a non-bailable offence. Initially, he was asked to appear before the police in Baramulla on September 26 after an FIR was registered on September 21. Sources say despite repeated summons, Handoo failed to appear before police. 

On October 17, a police team from Baramulla arrested him from Greater Fraidabad in Haryana. 

Handoo, a pandit activist had unsuccessfully contested the 2008 Assembly elections against National Conference President Farooq Abdullah from the Hazratbal constituency in Srinagar. 

Kashmiri Pandit leader Sanjay Saraf has termed the arrest as unfortunate and demanded that charges against Handoo are reviewed. 

"He was arrested from his Faridabad residence. It's not good for the community which has suffered due to terrorism, and now a community activist has been booked under cyber terrorism," said Saraf, Lok Janshakti Party leader.