On Sunday, January 1, 2023 in Dangri village, located near the Rajouri district in Jammu & Kashmir, two heavily armed jihad terrorists arrived in a car, stormed into homes, and opened fire at residents. The incident took place between 6 to 7 pm. The area is known to be under the constant threat of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Around ten victims have sustained severe injuries, while hospital authorities declared three people dead on arrival; the count climbed to four when another victim succumbed to injuries a few hours later.
What we will report next should serve as an eye-opener for those who still believe in the tired saying that “terrorism has no religion.” As per eyewitnesses, these gunmen checked the Aadhaar Cards (that is, the Indian national identification cards) of the civilians, confirmed their identities as Hindus, and opened fire after ensuring that their bullets wouldn’t be targeting Muslims. The deceased Hindus have been identified as Deepak Kumar (23), Shishuji Pal (32), Satish Kumar (45), and Pritam Lal (56).
“Militants have executed a cowardly attack. Six of our people are injured. Two are in critical condition. From the administration, the police have not yet reached the location. What expectations should we have from the authorities? We don’t know whom we should rely on,” lamented one eyewitness who was present in the hospital.
A second witness recounted, “At about 7 pm, terrorists opened fire at one of the houses, after which they came down and killed a boy who was parking his vehicle and was on his way home. Subsequently,” the witness pointed to a lady, “they moved towards her house and killed her husband after checking his Aadhaar card, which was lying along with the dead body in the house. They moved on towards a house further 200 meters down the street, where they killed more people.”
Another local recounted that a few people arrived at about 6 to 6.30 pm and carried out the targeted killings in three houses. “The incident happened at about 6-6.30 pm, I stay in the same place” where the incident took place. “Some people came. They did target killing at one house, then they went to the second house, and further on a targeted killing was done in the third house. This is a conspiracy so that people flee from this place,” he explained.
Some locals have also remarked that the Muslim attackers were wearing masks. Their first target was a house in Upper Dangri; they barged in and shot randomly at several people. They then moved about 25 meters away and opened fire at two other adjacent homes, injured two civilians, and fled.
Commenting on the ghastly attack on the Hindu community in Rajouri, an official noted that the firing ended within ten minutes. The security forces have heightened the scope of cordon-and-search operations in order to track down the suspected terrorists in the region. Additional troops have been called up, drones have been brought in, and sniffer dogs have been deployed to hunt down the jihad terrorists who executed the Sunday attack. Ravinder Raina, the BJP Chief for J&K, asserted, “Pakistan’s coward terrorists have done a sin. The murderers of Dhangri will be neutralized.”
This attack targeting the Hindus is one of the many similar recent attacks. While the popular notion is that the Muslims in this region are victims of fascism perpetrated by the authorities, the truth, as evident, is far from what is being cunningly propagated about the region’s dynamics.
The attack has also led to widespread panic in the village. Several Hindu associations have called for a strike in Rajouri on Monday and Tuesday in order to protest the killings of innocent Hindus. On Monday, people gathered outside GMC hospital Rajouri and chanted slogans against Pakistan and terrorism. But to imagine that such peaceful sloganeering would be able to counter terrorism is wishful thinking. This was proven when a child lost his life and another child, along with three women, was severely injured in a powerful explosion on Monday, January 2. The blast occurred at one of the houses attacked by Muslims in Upper Dangri the previous evening. While it has not been confirmed if this explosive was a grenade or an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), sources speculate that the jihaadis had planted it in the house in order to cause more damage and casualties. An additional Director General of Police in Jammu has confirmed the child’s death and reported that the other child is also in critical condition.