Former Ikhwan ‘Commander’ Rashid Billa ‘Threatens’ Sadrakoot Massacre Survivors

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

The recent statement of union defence minister Manohar Parrikar—”terrorists have to be neutralized only through terrorists” seems to have already emboldened the former Ikhwanis with an infamous former Ikhwan commander Rashid Billa allegedly issuing regular threats to the families fighting a legal battle against him.

A case in point is of Sadrakoot Bala (Bandipora) massacre in which seven members of three families were massacred on October 5, 1996 [FIR 125/96 Police Station Sumbal].

“Rashid Billa, an infamous Ikhwan commander, the main culprit behind the massacre, has so far escaped accountability for the crime he had committed 19 years ago,” said Khurram Parvez, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) spokesperson. “The family after taking legal recourse against Billa and his aides in the High Court, which served notice against him, JK Govt and the Indian Army, are facing regular threats from the perpetrators.”

The High Court action, Khurram said, irked the accused Rashid Billa who repeatedly threatened the petitioners. “The intimidation and the life threats intensified after the Indian Defence Minister’s recent statement,” he said. “Parrikar’s statement is an admission on part of the Indian government, which overtly and covertly through Ikhwan, VDCs etc unleashed a war on the people of Jammu and Kashmir resulted in numerous crimes.” The seriousness of the threats and the encouragement Rashid Billa and his men got from the recent statement merits serious attention, he said.

In a recently delivered threat, Rashid Billa intimidated the petitioners of serious consequences, the JKCCS spokesperson said, “Rashid Billa is continuously threatening the petitioners to withdraw the case or else they would be killed. He further threatened Manzoor Ahmed Dar, one of the petitioners, of dire consequences unless the families retract their allegations against him. Rashid Billa claimed that he would be once again made Ikhwan commander on June 3, 2015.”

Notably, former Ikhwanis have been presently absorbed in the unionist political parties, Territorial Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, Khurram said.

Yesterday, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed the Director General of Police and the Senior Superintendent of Police of Bandipora to protect the life and liberty of the petitioners. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled on July 6, 2015.

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