'You can kill body, but not spirit', says daughter of prominent Kashmiri Pandit shot dead by militants

Mourners are visiting the home of Makhan Lal Bindroo, a pharmacist who was among the three civilians shot dead by militants in the late hours of 5 October, as per Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The pharmacy of the 65-year-old Kashmiri Pandit in Srinagar is a familiar place to the majority of people in Kashmir looking for quality medicine. Bindroo Medicate is known for being one of the only medical shops in the Valley that does not sell counterfeit medicine.

The police said the attack occurred around 7:15 pm on Tuesday. “Bindroo received grievous gunshot injuries in this terror incident and was immediately rushed to nearby hospital. However he succumbed to his injuries,” the statement said.

Two other civilians were also shot dead on Saturday in Srinagar. The attacks were part of a spike in killings by militants that has put the security forces in Kashmir on guard.

After Bindroo’s killing on Tuesday, two more civilians were killed in Kashmir in the space of an hour; one of them a non-local, who was a street food vendor from Bihar. The other a Kashmiri Muslim, a taxi stand association president in Bandipora.

Bindroo ran two medical stores in Srinagar: one of the shops he owned was started by his late father Rakeshwar Nath Bindroo in 1947. According to his father-in-law, Roshan Lal Mawa, 78, “Bindroo never left Kashmir even during the peak of militancy, when Kashmiri Pandits would flee from Kashmir.”

“Because he wanted to stay back for his people and community, he refused to come with us. He was too attached to his roots,” said Mawa, who was himself shot in 1990 at his Karan Nagar residence.

Mawa later left Kashmir.

In 2006, Bindroo bought a house from a Kashmiri Pandit in Indra Nagar, where he was living with his wife, Kiran and his son, Siddharth Bindroo, a doctor in his 30s.

Bindroo is also survived by his daughter Shraddha, who is an associate professor in Chandigarh. His killing has left the family devastated. “My father died like a fighter. But whoever shot my father, I want to tell him that he is a coward,” Shraddha said.

His son Siddharth said that those that killed his father must be unaware of his contribution to society.

“From Baramulla to Banihall, people knew my father. He would sell imported medicine and would never try to profit from it, but rather serve his community as much as he could,” Siddharth said.

Mawa, his father-in-law, said Bindroo never did any wrong and that he is shocked by the killing.

“Whoever killed him has done a big sin. He never left Kashmir. Kashmir was his soul. He should not have been killed like this," Mawa said.

Shraddha said that she is not sad but proud that her father was a man who served humanity till his last breath.

“I don’t have a single tear in my eyes. My father died like a fighter. He would always say that he will die with shoes on,” she said. She added that Bindroo had made a name in the Kashmiri society and was always supportive of his family.

Addressing the media, an emotional Shraddha sent a message to her father’s killers.

“My father gave us education. Politicians gave you guns and stones. You can kill the body but not spirit. I’ve read the Quran. It doesn’t justify the killings of innocent people,” Shraddha said.

His neighbour described Bindroo’s killing as an act of terror. Abdul Rahman, 71, said he’d never met a more helpful person and that he would often call Bindroo and ask questions related to his health.

“He was extremely helpful and close with neighbours. This should not have happened. It is very sad,” Rahman said.

Politicians in Kashmir also condemned the killing of Bindroo and termed the incident “very unfortunate”.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted:

Condemn the killing of Shri M L Bindroo who chose to stay back in Kashmir even during peak insurgency. Such acts of violence have no place in our society. May his family find the strength to deal with this loss.

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 5, 2021

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted:

What terrible news! He was a very kind man. I’ve been told he never left during the height of militancy and remained with his shop open. I condemn this killing in the strongest possible terms & convey my heartfelt condolences to his family. God bless his soul. https://t.co/c29M0u2PUe

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 5, 2021

The police said, “Investigation is in progress and officers continue to work to establish the full circumstances of these terror crimes. The respective areas have been cordoned and search in these areas is going on.”

Since abrogation of Article 370 , police in Kashmir have maintained that there is decline in the number of people joining militants in the Valley. But the frequent attacks in the past few months targeting Srinagar city shows signs that the militancy still remains a potent threat.

Nearly 30 targeted killings were reported in Kashmir this year, with around a dozen killings.

According to official data, 23 civilians have been shot dead by militants in targeted killings this year. While three were non-locals from other Indian states, two were Kashmiri Pandits and 18 were Muslims.