Mehjoor Nagar Sikh massacre

Mehjoor Nagar Sikh massacre
Location	Mehjoor Nagar, Srinagar district, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Date	3 February 2001
Target	Sikhs
Attack type	Mass murder, spree shooting
Deaths	6
Injured	5

The Mehjoor Nagar Sikh massacre refers to the fatal shooting of Sikhs on 3 February 2001 in the Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.[1][2][3][4] In this attack, at least six people were killed in a drive-by shooting and five were injured.[2][5] The Mehjoor Nagar attack was the second big attack on the Sikh community of Kashmir – in March 2000, unknown gunmen committed a mass massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chithi Singh Pora.[6][7]

The killings

According to reports, this incident was triggered by the killing of an auto-rickshaw driver identified as Bilal Ahmed Khan of Gonikhan locality. Residents of Gonikhan alleged that two Sikh members of the special operations group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police boarded Bilal's auto-rickshaw the previous Wednesday. His body was later recovered from his auto near the bypass. The killing had triggered massive protest in Srinagar.[8]

The names of the six dead in this case are Satnam Singh, Charanjeet Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Suraj Singh, Sumeet Pal Singh and Balwant Singh and the five injured are Kanwal Nain Singh, Satinder Kaur, Vikram Singh, Chand Kaur and Dharmender Singh [9]

All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee has alleged that the "Government failed to book the ‘killers’ involved in Chattisinghpora and Mehjoor Nagar massacres".[10]

Aftermath

After the killings, several political and religious parties condemned the brutal killing.[11] No arrests have been made in this case.

References

1. "Sikh anger at Kashmir killings". BBC. 4 February 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
2. Sreedharan, Chindu (4 February 2001). "'Wherever they saw a turban, they fired'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
3. "Inquiry in Sikh carnage at Mehjoor Nagar in full swing". The Daily Excelsior. jammu-kashmir.com. 16 February 2001. Archived from the original on 29 December 2003. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
4. "A peace under pressure". Frontline. Vol. 18, no. 4. The Hindu. 17 February – 2 March 2001.
5. PTI (17 May 2018). "Ceasefire: Security forces keeping fingers crossed". India Today.
6. "SOUTH ASIA | Kashmir killings overshadow Clinton visit". BBC News. 21 March 2000. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
7. Popham, Peter (22 March 2000). "Massacre of 36 Sikhs overshadows Clinton's tour". The Independent. Delhi. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
8. Ahmad, Mukhtar (3 February 2001). "Sikhs attacked in Srinagar". Rediff. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
9. Sreedharan, Chindu (4 February 2001). "Wherever they saw a turban, they fired". Rediff.
10. "'Book Chattisinghpora, Mehjoor Nagar killers'". Greater Kashmir. Srinagar. CNS. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
11. "Farooq govt draws flak on killings". Tribune India. 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 March 2023.