Kashmir Sikh Body Calls For Fresh Probe Into Chattisinghpora Massacre
srinagar : The All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC), an alliance of Sikh parties and groups in Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday renewed its call for a fresh and transparent investigation into the 2000 Chattisinghpora Massacre, highlighting that justice continues to elude the families of the victims even after almost three decades.
The massacre, which took place on the evening of March 20, 2000, saw 35 Sikh men brutally murdered by unidentified gunmen at Chattisinghpora in the southern Anantnag district of the Kashmir Valley. The attack took place just hours before then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India; This timing has long led to questions and discussions about the incident. Authorities held “Pakistan-backed terrorists” responsible for the massacre.
On the eve of the anniversary of the massacre, APSCC president Jagmohan Singh Raina urged the government to reopen investigations and authorize the Justice Pandian Commission to further investigate the case. He emphasized that the Chattisinghpora massacre and the subsequent Panchalthan-Brakpora incident (in which five innocent civilians were killed in a staged encounter and falsely portrayed as foreign militants responsible for the Sikh killings) were “deeply interconnected” events and should be understood together rather than examined in isolation.
Raina noted that even after 28 years, the Sikh community in J&K continues to wait for the closure. “The government needs to identify and punish real criminals rather than relying on false allegations,” he said, adding that the official narrative does not stand up to scrutiny.
The APSCC questioned the long-standing claim that militants were responsible for the massacre. Authorities announced that the alleged perpetrators were killed in an encounter days later, but the Committee noted that no credible evidence had yet been produced to support this version. The Justice Pandian Commission later found that those killed in the Panchalthan-Brakapora encounter and labeled as militants were actually innocent civilians, deepening doubts on the credibility of the initial investigation.
The committee also claimed that the bodies of those killed in the clash were burned and buried in a hurry, while officials predicted the incident as a successful operation against the militants. “Such actions have only deepened suspicion and distrust among the public,” the APSCC said, arguing that these inconsistencies shroud the case in mystery.
The committee argued that successive investigations had failed to uncover the truth behind both the massacre and subsequent killings. He warned that continued inaction would amount to “serious injustice” to the Sikh community in Kashmir, which has repeatedly sought accountability and transparency.
The APSCC also recalled the assurances given by the then Prime Minister Farooq Abdullah, who promised swift action and justice in the wake of the massacre. “These promises have not been fulfilled so far,” the committee said and urged both the Union Territory administration and the Center to launch a credible re-investigation that could finally bring justice to the long-suffering families.
