Srinagar: Days after a Kashmiri Pandit activist Rakesh Handoo was arrested in Haryana’s Faridabad over allegedly issuing threats to Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), political leaders and others in the Union Territory are demanding a thorough investigation into the matter. Police have booked Handoo under anti-terrorism and cybercrime provisions, including provision of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).“For the last three decades, it has been the default rule to accuse or suspect local Kashmiris. This present case of a Kashmiri Pandit being arrested is a rare exception,” People’s Conference president and Handwara legislator Sajad Gani Lone told The Wire.“The truth may be told as it exists. Thousands who spent years in jail were let off by the courts. This is not a new pattern; the government has always followed this approach, and innocent Kashmiris have borne the brunt. There needs to be a transparent investigation,” Lone said.Handoo, a Kashmiri Pandit activist, unsuccessfully contested the 2008 Assembly election against National Conference president Farooq Abdullah from the Hazratbal constituency in Srinagar. He was arrested following a complaint by Rohit Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit posted in a government office in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district.Raina is one of around 6,000 persons who have been provided government jobs and residence in the valley under the Prime Minister’s special employment package for Kashmiri Pandits. The policy, launched in 2010, aimed to support the return and rehabilitation of the community after they were displaced due to the outbreak of militancy in 1990.Kashmiri Pandits supported by this special package were sent threat letters in July and August, which carried the names and contact details of employees belonging to the community. The threats spread fear amongst the minority community living and working in the region.The purported involvement of a terrorist outfit was circulated widely in the media at the time when the threat letters surfaced.Also read: J&K Govt Asks Kashmiri Pandit Staff to Work From Home After After Alleged Threat From Group Associated With LeTAccording to the latest reports, an FIR was registered in Handoo’s case on September 21, invoking terrorism and related charges.“It’s a very concerning development,” ruling National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar told The Wire, adding, “I congratulate the agencies for uncovering the plot and arresting an individual who, under the garb of ‘Pandit activism’, was allegedly involved in sending terror threats to Pandit employees. He would not have worked alone.”“I am sure the police authorities will dig into the incident and unmask those who were behind this man,” Dar said.According to Inspector General of Police Sujit Kumar, investigation agencies have gathered “substantial evidence” showing Handoo’s alleged involvement in issuing the threats, which were directed at Kashmiri Pandit employees in the Valley who had been hired under a special government of India package aimed at their ultimate rehabilitation.It turns out that Handoo may have been manipulating the public perception about where these threats were emanating from and whom they targeted, after allegedly issuing them himself.“The accused allegedly manipulated and repeatedly circulated terror-related threat material, purportedly issued by Soldier of Resistance/United Liberation Council, on X, falsely projecting complainant Rohit Raina as the intended target by altering the original identifying details. The circulation allegedly created serious apprehension regarding the complainant’s safety,” the police said, as per reports.Handoo was initially directed to appear before the police in Baramulla on September 26. He allegedly failed to comply despite repeated summons, according to a report on NDTV. Thereafter, a police team from Baramulla arrested him from his residence in the Greater Faridabad locality on October 17.The threatening letters had prompted the administration to keep thousands of employees recruited under the prime minister’s package away from work for nearly three weeks. While the government had at the time denied issuing administrative leave to keep the Pandit employees working from home, The Wire, after speaking with the Pandit employees, had reported that work from home orders were communicated to them unofficially.The employees were asked to stay away from their offices until August 15 had been marked in the valley.Following the threats, preceded by targeted killings of migrant workers in Kashmir, authorities launched a major crackdown and more than 3,000 locals were arrested on suspicion of being overground workers (OGWs), a term used for people suspected of giving logistical assistance to militants.Also read: How Kashmiri Pandits Are Responding to Recent Spate of Threat LettersHandoo’s arrest in the case has also prompted Kashmiri politicians to question the mainstream media’s narrative and police action against the locals.“Today, we have discovered Rakesh Handoo, a Kashmiri Pandit himself, allegedly circulated death threats to his fellow Kashmiri Pandits,” PDP leader Iltija Mufti wrote on X. “But there won’t ever be a single apology for stereotyping Kashmiri Muslims painting them as pro- terror because this venomous narrative fuels BJP & helps Godi media grab eyeballs,” she added.Separately, she wrote a post in which she questioned the silence of mainstream media and shared a picture of Rakesh Handoo with former Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, and wrote, “Reaction, prime time debates & hypertension only if the accused is a Kashmiri Muslim posing next to a Kashmiri Muslim politician?”The Wire could not independently verify the authenticity of this image. However, the image appeared to have been shared on a Facebook page that is “not available in India”. A photograph of Rakesh Handoo with former Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo (left), shared by PDP leader Iltija Mufti. A post that previously shared this image on Facebook is “not available in India” (bottom right). A google search still throws up the original post (top right).In 2022, following targeted attacks in which five Kashmiri Pandits were killed, the administration enhanced the security cover for the colonies and settlements where the community members live. The killings sparked protests that went on for months, with the beneficiaries of the PM’s special package demanding their relocation to Jammu.However, the government rejected this demand, and the employees were instead moved to “safer locations”, including in towns across Kashmir.For the moment, however, the focus is back to the policing system in place in the Valley and the demand for a fair and just investigation into who was behind the threats issued earlier this year.“Reports suggesting that a Kashmiri Pandit residing outside Jammu and Kashmir may have been involved in issuing threats against Pandits employed in Kashmir warrant a thorough investigation,” Professor Noor Ahmad Baba, a political scientist and international relations expert, told The Wire.“Such an investigation should seek to establish the motives behind these threats and determine whether the individual acted independently or at the behest of others. The possibility that vested interests, individuals or agencies may have been involved, pursuing agendas aimed at portraying Kashmir in a particular light and maligning Kashmiris, also needs to be examined.It is important that the truth emerges through a credible and impartial investigation and that its findings are made public. This development also raises important questions that the Jammu and Kashmir Police need to address, particularly concerning Kashmiri Muslims who were previously detained in connection with similar cases.It is essential to establish whether, and to what extent, such detentions were supported by credible evidence. The findings of the investigation should also help clarify whether any innocent individuals were unjustly implicated or detained,” he said.The threat letters had allegedly referred to PM package Kashmiri Pandit employees as “white-collar terrorists,” apparently working for their “masters in Delhi.”Senior PDP leader and MLA from Pulwama Waheed Ur Rehman Parra told The Wire that he did not have “any knowledge about this incident, but if anyone has done any mischief or something to create fear, then law should take its own course”.