Srinagar

A schoolteacher has been shot dead by terrorists in the Gopalpora area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The teacher has been identified as Rajni Bala. She was shot dead right outside a government high school in Gopalpora. 

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Rajni Bala was a migrant Hindu schedule cast and a teacher by profession. She was working in Kulgam since 2017. She along with her husband have been posted in this area and were living in a rented accommodation in Chawalgaam area of Kulgam. 

According to reports, Rajni’s husband dropped her on the main road of the school and as she entered the lane, two terrorists shot her from a close range with a pistol. The locals rushed to the spot and took her to the hospital, but she succumbed on her arrival at the hospital.

“Terrorists fired upon a one-woman teacher at High School Gopalpora area of Kulgam. In this terror incident, she received critical gunshot injuries. Later she succumbed to her injuries. The lady teacher who died was a Hindu ( SC) & resident of Samba (Jammu division). Terrorists involved in this gruesome terror crime will be soon identified and neutralised,” said IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar. 

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The Jammu and Kashmir Police along with the other security agencies have cordoned off the area to nab the attackers. The teachers in the school were completely heartbroken and in tears. 

“She was about to reach the school premises and was attacked. We took her to the hospital,  but she had died on the way, she was here for the last 8 years. She was one of the best teachers and loved by all. We recently went on a picnic together. Never expected anything like this to happen. “ said Shahida Bano, a female teacher at the same school. 

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The students at the school fainted when the incident took place. According to teachers, they were very close to Rajni Bala who used to teach social science to the 9th and 10 standard students. 

“It was the arrival time and 5 teachers had reached the school. We are in total 8 teachers. We were getting ready for morning assembly. We heard a sound like a firecracker. The kids started shouting and when we reached the spot, she was lying there injured. She was posted here since 2017. She never wanted to get transferred from the school. It was extremely horrific. This is very unfortunate and inhumane to kill a teacher,” Fayaz Ahmad, a teacher in the same school. 

The political parties in the valley have condemned the killing and said these civilian killings are a cause of concern. “ Rajni was from Samba District of Jammu province. A government teacher working in the Kulgam area of South Kashmir, she lost her life in a despicable targeted attack. My heart goes out to her husband Raj Kumar & the rest of her family. Another home irreparably damaged by violence." said Omar Abdullah, Former Cheif Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The PDP present Mehbooba Mufti questioned the government's claim of normalcy "Despite GOIs fake claims about Kashmir being normal it's obvious that targeted civilian killings are on the rise & a deep cause of concern. Condemn this act of cowardice which sadly plays into the vicious anti muslim narrative spun by BJP." She tweeted. 

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Police, 15 civilians have been killed in Kashmir Valley this year. This includes non-locals, Kashmiri pandits and locals The security agencies have intensified the anti-terror operation in the valley, so far 55 north encounters have happened so far this year and 88 terrorists are killed. 

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