Rahul Bhat's family sought his transfer but admin took no action, claim colleagues

The family of Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit staff who was shot dead by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district, had sought his transfer from Chadoora citing threat to his life, but the administration took no action, his colleagues claimed on Saturday.

Bhat, who had got the job of a clerk under the special employment package for migrants in 2010-11, was gunned down by terrorists inside the tehsil office in Chadoora town of central Kashmir's Budgam district on Thursday.

Protesting his killing, the Kashmiri Pandit migrant employees who were employed under the prime minister's package in 2008, said Bhat's wife had met the officials of the administration a few times to plead for his transfer.

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"When Deepak Chand (another Kashmiri pandit) was killed (in October last year), there was a threat perception. He (Bhat) thought that something may happen to him as well. His wife had gone to them (officials) two to three times but there was no action," Sanjay Kumar, a Kashmiri Pandit employee, told PTI here.

He said Bhat's wife had pleaded that he be shifted to the deputy commissioner's office in Budgam.

"But the file with her plea was kept in the garbage. Now, he lost the life... she (Bhat's wife) had been pleading (with the authorities) that Chadoora is not a safe place," Kumar said.

Another employee, who requested anonymity, claimed that Rahul Bhat was not provided with any security despite the issue being raised by his wife.

He said that he can be identified as another Rahul "as we all are Rahul Bhat".

"His wife had gone to the deputy commissioner. But, what security was provided to him or all of us? Did they not have intelligence inputs about the attack?” the protesting employees questioned.

The deputy commissioner of Budgam, Shahbaz Ahmad Mirza, did not respond to calls for his comments.