The 1998 Chapnari massacre was a massacre of 26 Hindu villagers in Chapnari (also called Champanari by some sources) village in Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir on 19 June 1998, by terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.[1][2][3]
| Chapnari Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Chapnari, Doda District, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Date | 19 June 1998 |
| Target | Hindus |
Attack type | Mass murder |
| Deaths | 25 |
| Perpetrators | Lashkar-e-Taiba Hizbul Mujahideen[1] |
Background
editIn 1990, 500,000 to 600,000 Kashmiri Hindus left Kashmir after being targeted by Islamist militants.[4]
The attack
editThe victims were accompanying two marriage parties when they were attacked. Police sources said that five members were spared.[5][6] Among those who survived Chapnari were the three primary school teachers and the bride.[6]
Aftermath
editChief minister Farooq Abdullah strongly condemned the attack and described it as "yet another barbaric act of Pakistan-sponsored militants in Jammu and Kashmir". India's Home Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, who had recently assumed overall control of Indian policy in the state, described the killing of the wedding guests as "a clear attempt at ethnic cleansing" and said that responsibility for the attack, and the other massacres of Hindus, rested with Pakistan.[2]
In September 1998, Abid Hussain of Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was the main suspect in the massacre, was killed in an encounter by Indian security forces.[1] Another suspect, Attullah of Hizbul Mujahideen, was arrested in June 2004.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Chapnari main accused killed". The Indian Express. 20 September 1998. Archived from the original on 2 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ a b Burns, John F. (20 June 1998). "Gunmen Kill 25 Hindus in Kashmir Attacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "World: South Asia Wedding massacre in Kashmir". BBC News. 19 June 1998. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Casimir, Michael J.; Lancaster, William; Rao, Aparna (1 June 1997). "Editorial". Nomadic Peoples. 1 (1): 3–4. doi:10.3167/082279497782384668. ISSN 0822-7942.
- ^ Ahmad, Mukhtar (19 June 1998). "25 gunned down in Doda district". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ a b Swami, Praveen (17 July 1998). "Chapnari's terror". Vol. 15, no. 14. Frontline. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Chapnari massacre accused held". The Tribune. 13 June 2004. Archived from the original on 2 June 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.