Jammu, Jul 28 (KNO): Asserting that the administration and the security forces will not rest till terror victim families get justice, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday said that ‘Dharma's victory over Adharma’ is inevitable.
Speaking at a function organized to handover the appointment letters to 80 Next of Kins (NoKs) of terror victims here, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, “We will not rest until the perpetrators who killed you dear ones—whether they are hiding in J&K or across the border—are brought to justice.”
The programme in Jammu followed the historic event in Baramulla, where 40 terror-victim families received appointment letters.
Today’s event marked yet another significant step in delivering justice to terror victim families in Jammu Kashmir.
LG Sinha paid heartfelt tributes to the countless victims of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, stating that "Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has shed the blood of innocents for over three decades, but under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the era of silence and injustice has come to an end."
“Under PM Modi’s leadership we are determined to crush terrorism and bring those aiding and abetting terror outfits to justice. I assure the terror victim families that the perpetrators will be punished,” he said.
LG Sinha said, “I pay my deepest respects to the martyrs who lost their lives to the bullets of Pakistani terrorists. For thirty years, you waited for justice—today, I assure you, your wait is over.”
He emphasized that the administration, alongside the police, have provided platforms to terror victim families to publicly share their grief and recount the atrocities committed by terrorists operating with Pakistan’s support.
COMMITTED TO ENSURING JUSTICE FOR EVERY TERROR VICTIM FAMILY
“Dharma's victory over Adharma is inevitable. We are committed to ensuring justice for every terror victim family, making their rehabilitation, jobs, financial assistance, and livelihood opportunities our foremost responsibility. This initial step towards justice has already brought a ray of hope to the terror victim families. It is the beginning of a new era of justice in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Highlighting the prolonged neglect that terror victim families endured, LG Sinha said that successive regimes ignored their pain. “When terrorists were killed, processions were taken out and floral tributes offered at their graves by certain elements. But the innocents slaughtered by these very terrorists received no attention,” he said. “People know the faces that glorified terrorists. I don't want to name them, but their soft corner for Pakistan is well known.”
“For too long, Pakistan sponsored terrorists and its supporters, conflict entrepreneurs and separatist ecosystem suppressed the voice of thousands of victim families. The fabricated narratives of separatist elements are now crumbling,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
TERROR ECOSYSTEM SILENCED VICTIMS AND REWARDED PERPETRATORS
He condemned the "terror ecosystem" that silenced the victims and rewarded perpetrators.
Sharing a heart-wrenching account, he said, “A daughter of an SPO narrated how her father was killed by terrorists and how her mother raised them with immense hardship. Shockingly, the killer was later given a government job.”
The Lieutenant Governor narrated the heartrending incident of 21st July 2001 when Tara Devi, a resident of Cherji village, Kishtwar sacrificed her life while protecting her son from the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. “On 30th April 1998, Pakistani terrorists slit the throats of Gyan Devi and her one-and-a-half-year-old son Kikar Singh in Balgran village of Kishtwar. On 5th April 2005, Ashfaq Ahmed, from Doda, a member of the Village Defense Committee was martyred in an encounter with terrorists. His son Shamim Ahmed was only 7 years old at that time,” LG Sinha said.
“For decades, countless families and their loved ones lost to Pakistan sponsored terrorism, were reduced to mere statistics, their pain unheard, their tears unwiped. Finally, after all this time, justice has come knocking at their doors,” he said.
AFTER YEARS OF GRIEF AND SUFFERING, TERROR VICTIM FAMILIES GOT JUSTICE
After years of grief and suffering, terror victim families of Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban Poonch, Rajouri, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi get Justice.
LG Sinha referred to the massacres of the 1990s—Doda in 1993 where 170 civilians were killed, and the Udhampur and Rajouri carnages in 1995 that took over 215 innocent lives.
He lauded late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for raising these issues with the international community. “On one side, Pakistan spilled innocent blood; on the other, terror supporters within the system ensured families of martyrs were left to fend for themselves,” he said.
Stating that loved ones of terror victim families cannot be brought back, LG Sinha said, “Providing them with the job letters is a move toward healing and recognition. The process will continue until every last deserving family receives assistance.”
He also promised to reopen old cases of terror killings where even FIRs were not registered. “Many families had to flee the Valley in the 1990s due to threats. We will ensure those cases are investigated and perpetrators punished,” he declared.
CONFLICT ENTREPRENEURS WHO FED OFF THIS BLOODSHED WILL BE PUNISHED
In a stern warning to those who peddle terrorist narratives under the garb of freedom of speech, LG Sinha said, “Conflict entrepreneurs who fed off this bloodshed will be punished. Freedom of speech doesn’t allow glorification of terrorism.”
“For too long, Pakistan sponsored terrorists and its supporters, conflict entrepreneurs and separatist ecosystem suppressed the voice of thousands of victim families. The fabricated narratives of separatist elements are now crumbling,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
He said that an internal web portal has been launched and a centralized database of terror victim families is being developed to monitor and process all cases, ensuring timely relief. “Additionally, helplines are now active in every district of Jammu and Kashmir for victims to register grievances. Further support is available through divisional helplines, staffed by trained employees, at the offices of the Divisional Commissioners. Deputy Commissioners in every district are now receiving a steady flow of applications, which are being thoroughly scrutinized. We are also integrating a mechanism in the portal for extending self-employment assistance to the members of terror victim families,” he said, adding, “Appointment letters and other assistance will be handed over to terror victim families in large numbers on 5th August, in Srinagar,” he added.
Referring to the recent July 24 incident, LG Sinha said, “Don’t touch the innocent and don’t spare the guilty is our policy. Police have taken effective action. SIT has been constituted and magisterial investigation has been ordered. Two officials stand suspended. Further action will be taken on the basis of the inquiry report,” he said.
“A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed and a magisterial probe has been ordered. Names of two personnel had surfaced and they stand suspended. Further investigations are on.”
Reaffirming the administration’s resolve, LG Sinha said, “Pakistan and its terror machinery may have carried out massacres, but our armed forces and this administration will not stop till the last terrorist is eliminated. We owe this to the martyrs and their families.”
Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo; DGP, Nalin Prabhat; Principal Secretary Home, Chandrakar Bharti; Commissioner Secretary, GAD M Raju; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar; IGP Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti, Deputy Commissioners of various districts, senior officials and family members of victims of terrorism were present.
Chairpersons of District Development Councils, Members of Legislative Assembly, and members of various social organisations were also present—(KNO)