Here's All About Bitta Karate, The 'Butcher of Kashmiri Pandits', Who Allegedly Killed 42 People

Nearly 31 years after the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammy and Kashmir, the family of Satish Tickoo moved to a Srinagar court on Wednesday, March 30, to reopen the trial against dreaded terrorist Farooq Ahmed Dar, infamously known as Bitta Karate.

The move comes on the heels of the significant success of the movie, The Kashmir Files, which showed the plight of Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s.

Who is Bitta Karate

Farooq Ahmed Dar, known by his nom de guerre Bitta Karate, is a former Kashmiri separatist terrorist, who currently serves as the chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in the Kashmir Valley.

Dar has admitted on camera to murdering multiple Kashmiri Hindu Pandits during the 1990 Kashmir insurgency leading up to the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.

Later he claimed that he hadn't killed any Pandits and that the statement was made under duress.

While "Bitta" was his pet name, he was given the suffix "Karate" because of his mastery in martial arts

He was imprisoned from 1990 until 2006 under terrorism-related charges before being released on bail. He was arrested again in 2019 for financing terrorism.

Dar was born on 1 January 1973 in the Guru Bazar neighbourhood of the city of Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley of the Jammu and Kashmir state, India into a Kashmiri Muslim family of the Dar clan.

While "Bitta" was his pet name, he was given the suffix "Karate" because of his mastery in martial arts.

Dar was involved in the family business until he left home to join militancy and soon became notorious.

Participated in the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits

Farooq Ahmad Dar operated as a militant of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front and participated in the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits.

He had admitted on camera to having killed over 20 Kashmiri Pandits.

His first victim was a young businessman, Satish Kumar Tickoo, a Kashmiri Pandit, who was also his close friend. Tickoo was shot by Dar in front of his house.

Dar was involved in family business until he left home to join militancy and soon became notorious.

The convener of Panun Kashmir has accused him of publicly proclaiming killing 42 Hindus.

Karate remained under detention for 16 years and was released on indefinite bail in October 2006. His detention under the Public Safety Act was quashed by the Supreme Court of India.

While dictating the verdict, the TADA court judge said that the court was aware of the fact that the allegations against the accused are serious in nature but said that the prosecution had shown total disinterest in arguing the case.

Several Kashmiri Pandit organizations condemned the release of the dreaded terrorist but he received a warm welcome from his supporters.

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