J&K Police probing gutting of houses belonging to Kashmiri Pandits

Srinagar, July 30 (IANS) The J&K Police have ordered a probe into the ‘mysterious’ fire incident in which three houses belonging to Kashmiri Pandits were gutted in the Mattan area of Anantnag district.

South Kashmir DIG Javid Iqbal Mattoo said the fire broke out ‘mysteriously’ on the intervening night of July 28 and 29 at the house of Anand Razdan.“The fire also engulfed the houses of Shadi Lal Razdan and Sham Lal Pathwar, both neighbours of Anand Razdan, damaging their houses. A nearby grain store was also damaged in the fire,” the DIG said.He added that an investigation is underway following the filing of an FIR at the Mattan police station.“Forensic teams have been called to assist the police with the investigation. We are also scanning the CCTV footage from the surrounding areas to look for clues,” the DIG said.One of the houses gutted in the fire was the maternal home of the additional spokesperson of National Conference (NC), Umesh Talashi.NC said the party stands united with the Kashmiri Pandit brethren.“One of the affected houses holds deep sentimental value as it was the maternal home of our additional spokesperson, @UTalashi. This loss of property is deeply emotional and significant. We call on the authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation to bring the culprits to book,” the NC wrote on X.–IANSdan/arm