November 07, 2026

J&K: BJP Leader And Two Family Members Killed In Serious Security Lapse

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-07-09 08:21:44

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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The audacious and gruesome killing of Waseem Bari, the former Bandipora district head of the BJP, his father Sheikh Bashir Ahmad and brother Umar Sheikh by terrorists on Wednesday must be strongly condemned. They were killed at their home which is a two-storeyed building that also houses a family-run restaurant. Bari was very active in organizing membership drives for the party and facilitating the visits of Union minister and top functionaries of the party to the region. As he was on the terrorist hit list, he was provided security by the administration. Eight personnel from the armed battalion of the J&K police were supposed to be with the family at all times. Surprisingly, none of them was at the spot when the incident happened. The J&K police have arrested all of them.

The worst part is that Bari's house was located in a high-security area, just 30 metres from the local police station and 600 metres from the houses of the deputy commissioner and the district police chief. Yet the terrorists carried out their vile act with impunity. The breach in security was deplorable. It raises questions about the wisdom of using local policemen to protect people on the hit list of terrorists. Local policemen have innumerable concerns and are more amenable to being compromised, as it seems to have happened in this case. Coming just days after the incident near Kanpur where moles in the police force caused the death of 8 police personnel at the hands of goons who were tipped off about a raid, the incident proves that police reforms and implementation of revised rules and protocols have become urgent.

This was the first incident involving a major political leader after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. But if security protocols are not reviewed and tightened, it is not going to be the last. For the last couple of months, the security forces were gaining an upper hand in their cat and mouse fight with the terrorists. Several top terrorists had been eliminated and the security forces had crippled their movement by activating a robust information network. But this incident shows that the information network failed for once or the personnel at the ground were compromised. This is a matter of grave concern and the administration must take strict action after a thorough inquiry. The fight against the terrorists will be won as much by action as by perception. If the perception gains ground that the terrorists can strike at will, the local population will be scared into submission and will start helping them again. After months of hard work to show that they have an upper hand, the security forces cannot allow that to happen.