A hard-working, family man, who had dedicated his life to upholding the law of the land, met a gruesome end at the hands of a terrorist, whom he once considered his friend. The story of Tej Krishan Razdan is the story of his community, betrayed at the hands of those whom they had been trusting for life.

On 12 February 1990, the winter air in Budgam carried an unthinkable betrayal. Tej Krishan Razdan, a Kashmiri Pandit and CBI Inspector posted in Punjab, had returned home on leave, quietly hoping to bring his family to safety amid surging violence. He was a man dedicated to service, carrying the burdens of duty and love for his homeland.

That morning, Razdan met an old neighbor, someone he believed to be a lifelong friend, Manzoor Ahmed Shalla. Lending his trust as decades of shared memories permitted, Razdan agreed to accompany him into Srinagar via a bus bound for Lal Chowk. Then, near Gaw Kadal, the unthinkable happened. Manzoor, now aligned with the JKLF militants, drew a revolver and fired multiple rounds into Razdan’s chest. The life drained from him in a public, brutal moment.

Worse still, the betrayal became a spectacle. Manzoor dragged Razdan’s bleeding body from the bus, incited bystanders to trample him, and left him abandoned near a mosque. In a final act of terror, his identity papers were nailed to his body, an ominous message of fear displayed openly. The police eventually intervened, retrieving his remains and overseeing his cremation.

Razdan had not been a soldier or a public figure, but his murder resonated with explosive pain, a friend’s betrayal turned symbol of how terror had corroded even the most familiar bonds. He had returned to protect his home, only to become a victim of the very terror from which he sought to shield his loved ones. His death remains emblematic of a community shattered from within.