JAIPUR: After the broad daylight killing of bank manager Vijay Kumar Beniwal by a terrorist in Kulgam, Kashmir, a pall of gloom has gripped Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district.
Beniwal, a resident of Bhagwan village of Hanumangarh district, had got a job in Kashmir only two years ago. He got married merely four months ago and had taken his wife to Kashmir only last month.
The villagers are shocked by the news of Beniwal’s murder in the Valley.
After Beniwal was shot by a terrorist in his Elaquai Dehati Bank branch office, he was taken to the hospital but he could not be saved.
The EDB, a regional rural bank having branches in both Jammu and Kashmir regions, is run by the State Bank of India.
Expressing anger and grief over the killing of Vijay, the citizens of the district, including the villagers, have demanded to stop such incidents from happening again and again and provide adequate security to the government employees working in the Valley.
"He had called recently and promised to come home for 10-15 days in July. We wanted him to settle down in Rajasthan but the destiny was something else," said Beniwal, who is a government schoolteacher.
Kumar's family members and wife were in a deep shock when they heard the news.
Beniwal’s father Omprakash said, “There is a PO manager in small and far-flung banks. My son was also preparing for the examination so that he could get the job of branch manager elsewhere. We wanted him to come back to Rajasthan.”
He added that the way people from outside are being targeted in Kashmir, it will not be easy to work there.
"The way outsiders are being targeted in Jammu and Kashmir, in such a situation it will not be easy to work there. For this, the government should make some strategy," said Kumar's father.
Kumar's mortal remains will be brought to his village on Friday, where his last rites will be performed.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy CM Sachin Pilot also condemned the killing.
Gehlot said the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has failed to restore peace in Kashmir.
"The killing of Mr Vijay Kumar, a resident of Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, working in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir, by terrorists is highly condemnable. I pray to God to give peace to his soul and courage to his family," Gehlot tweeted.
He said the Union government should ensure the safety of citizens in Kashmir.
"Such killing of our citizens by terrorists will not be tolerated," he said.
Pilot said, "The brutal targeted killing of Kashmiri pandits and others are exposing the real situation of Jammu and Kashmir. The Centre is not able to control the situation. The Centre should act strictly and control terrorist activities. My condolences are with the people who were killed by terrorists and their family members."
Kumar's is the eighth targeted killing in the Valley since May 1 and the third of a non-Muslim government employee.
Two days ago, Rajni Bala, a Hindu woman teacher from Jammu's Samba district, was shot dead by terrorists at a government school in Gopalpora, Kulgam.
On May 12, Rahul Bhat, a clerk, was shot dead inside the tehsildar's office in Chadoora tehsil of Budgam district.
(With PTI Inputs)