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Fear lingers in Rajiv Nagar

By Our Staff Reporter

Jammu July 15. In the aftermath of the terrorist attack at Rajiv Nagar, thousands of slum-dwellers living in the peripheral areas of Jammu are a terrified lot.

For the time being, security at the slums has been tightened. But people fear that the situation will change as soon as the dust settles down and Saturday's attack fades from public memory.

In Rajiv Nagar, people have returned to their dwellings. In the morning, the bloodstains were cleared and a pooja was performed in memory of those killed.

Fear, however, lingers. When this reporter visited the area this morning, some people stopped him and asked him to identify himself. Says Savitri Devi, an inhabitant of Rajiv Nagar: ``We cannot trust anybody. We feel insecure, having seen death so close.''

``What has anybody gained by killing people like us,'' she weeps.

Fearing a repeat of Saturday's terrorist attack, thousands of slum-dwellers were preparing to leave Jammu today. At the railway station and bus stand, there was an unprecedented rush. There is an incoming crowd as well — people coming to the city to enquire about their loved ones.

Yesterday, minutes before the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani, visited Rajiv Nagar, some slums-dwellers raised an alarm when they claimed to have seen two armed men coming from a nearby hill. Police and the Army men got into action at once, but found no one.

At Belicharanna camp on the outskirts of Jammu, some 60,000 migrants from Rajouri, Poonch and Doda are living in fear. Says Subh Ram, a migrant from Doda: ``We came here fearing for our lives. But here too we are not safe.''

A senior police officer told The Hindu that nobody is willing to understand the ground situation. ``There are innumerable soft targets in Jammu. Here, it is far easier for terrorists to ``disappear'' in the hilly forests.''

Meanwhile, the death toll in Saturday's attack has risen to 28 with the death of one Rajesh Kumar this morning.

Jammu city observed a bandh in response to a call given by the BJP, the Joint Jammu Student Federation and the Panthers Party. Transport was thrown out of gear and educational institutions remained closed. The attendance in Government offices was thin.

Shops and other commercial establishments also remained closed.

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