32 years after butchering Kashmiri Pandits, Bitta Karate faces murder trial in court
In a 1991 interview, Karate had said, “Satish Kumar Tickoo was the first person I killed. I got the orders from the above to kill him. He was a Hindu boy."
New Delhi: Almost 32 years after the barbaric killing and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in valley, the wheels of justice has started moving on. Bitta Karate, the mass murderer is set to face the law as murder trial has begun over his involvement in multiple killings.
The trial against him commenced today at Srinagar Sessions court as the genocide victim Satish Tickoo’s family moved a plea seeking justice.
Bitta Karate, in one of the interviews admitted on camera that he massacred nearly 42 Kashmiri Pandits in 1990s, when the valley was hit by
Pak-sponsored militancy & terrorism.
In a 1991 interview, Karate had said, “Satish Kumar Tickoo was the first person I killed. I got the orders from the above to kill him. He was a Hindu boy.”
Tickoo was a local businessman and also a close friend of Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate.
The militancy hit era of 1990s saw mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits & Hindu community from the valley. Those displaced from their native place took refuge outside the state and have harrowing tales to narrate about the ordeal & sufferings they went through during that time.
The Kashmir Files movie, depicting their pain and agony, has revived a fresh hope for the genocide victims who want justice to prevail, even if that comes after three decades.
In the movie, Bitta Karate is shown as Chinmay Mandlekar, who kills more than 30-40 Kashmiri Pandits. Associated with separatist group Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), he was one of the key commanders to have carried out targeted torture and killing of Kashmiri Pandits.