Kashmiri Pandit Activist Rakesh Handoo Arrested Over Alleged Fake Militant Threat Posters

Javaid Bhatt | Bureau Head,The Pillar India J&K

Srinagar, October 27: Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested Kashmiri Pandit activist Rakesh Handoo, alias Bunty, in connection with allegations that he circulated fake militant threat letters and posters to create fear among minority government employees recruited under the Prime Minister’s Special Employment Package in the Kashmir Valley.

According to reports, the alleged threat letters, circulated in August, contained the names and contact details of Kashmiri Pandit employees, triggering widespread concern over their safety. Subsequently, hundreds of employees recruited under the special employment package were placed on administrative leave for nearly three weeks amid security concerns.

Handoo, 59, was reportedly detained on October 17 from his residence in Greater Faridabad, Haryana, by a special team of Baramulla Police in coordination with local police. He was subsequently brought to Kashmir on transit remand.

According to the grounds of arrest served on his wife, police alleged that Handoo had ignored repeated summons to appear before Baramulla Police following the registration of an FIR on September 21.

The case has been registered as FIR No. 151/2026 at Baramulla Police Station. The charges reportedly include provisions relating to cyberterrorism under the Information Technology Act.

Background

Introduced in 2010, the Prime Minister’s Special Employment Package has provided government jobs to approximately 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits as part of efforts to facilitate the return and rehabilitation of the community, many of whose members were displaced from Kashmir following the outbreak of militancy in the early 1990s.

In 2022, targeted militant attacks killed five Kashmiri Pandits, triggering months of protests by employees recruited under the package, who demanded relocation to Jammu. Although the government declined to shift them to Jammu, employees were moved to safer locations in Srinagar and other major towns across the Valley.

Police sources have reportedly suggested that personal or group rivalry may have motivated the alleged circulation of fabricated threat material.

The allegations against Handoo remain under investigation. Their veracity has not yet been independently established.