Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police have booked Kashmiri Pandit activist Rakesh Handoo under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly circulating fake militant threat letters targeting Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Kashmir Valley under the PM’s special employment package.
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The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the Valley, where a Kashmiri Pandit has been booked under the stringent anti-terror law. The development is significant as Kashmiri Pandits, a community displaced from the Valley following the outbreak of militancy, are widely regarded as Indian nationalists.
Handoo was arrested by a Baramulla Police team from Faridabad in Haryana on October 17 in connection with the alleged circulation of threatening letters in August this year. The letters reportedly contained the names and contact details of several Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Valley, causing fear among them and raising concerns about their safety.
“Police have got substantial and serious clues about his involvement. He has been booked under UAPA,” IGP, Kashmir Zone, Sujit Kumar, was quoted as saying.
The circulation of the alleged threat letters had prompted hundreds of employees recruited under the PM’s special employment package to stay away from work for nearly three weeks over security concerns. The case was registered following a complaint by Rohit Raina, appointed under the PM’s package and posted in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
According to reports, police registered FIR No. 151/2026 at Baramulla Police Station under Section 66F, which deals with cyberterrorism, and Section 84C of the Information Technology Act.
In September, Handoo was asked to appear for questioning, but he failed to respond and was subsequently arrested in Haryana.
The investigation is continuing, and the allegations against Handoo have not yet been established in court. The case has once again brought attention to the security of Kashmiri Pandit employees and the challenges surrounding the rehabilitation of the displaced community in the Valley.
Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits have been appointed to government jobs under the Prime Minister’s special employment package, introduced in 2010 to encourage members of the displaced community to return to Kashmir.
The package was aimed at helping Kashmiri Pandits return to the Valley by providing government employment and other rehabilitation support. However, the safety of these employees has remained a major concern, particularly after targeted attacks on members of the community in 2022. Those attacks triggered prolonged protests by employees recruited under the package. Many demanded that they be relocated to Jammu, saying they feared for their lives while working in the Valley. The government, however, did not agree to transfer all the employees to Jammu. Instead, they were shifted to comparatively safer locations in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir.
The latest case has renewed concerns about the safety of these employees and how threats, whether genuine or fabricated, can affect efforts to rehabilitate the displaced community.
Handoo has also been active in politics. He unsuccessfully contested the 2008 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election from the Hazratbal constituency in Srinagar against National Conference president Farooq Abdullah.
