Hiding in a Drum of Rice, Killed by Betrayal — The Story of B.K. Ganjoo

In March 1990, as terror gripped the Valley, telecom engineer Bal Krishan (B.K.) Ganjoo rushed into his home with militants on his trail. His wife bolted the doors in panic, and he climbed to the attic, hiding himself in a large drum of rice, praying the danger would pass. At first, the gunmen searched and left, unable to find him. But then came the unthinkable—his own neighbour betrayed him, revealing his hiding place. The militants stormed back, raised their rifles, and fired into the rice drum, killing him instantly, his blood soaking the grain that once symbolized life.

The cruelty did not end with death. In an act of sheer inhumanity, his grieving wife was forced to eat from the blood-soaked rice, her sorrow turned into a spectacle of humiliation. That day, not only was a man murdered, but the sanctity of trust, neighbourly bonds, and humanity itself was shattered.

B.K. Ganjoo’s story remains one of the most heart-wrenching reminders of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide—a tale of betrayal and brutality, but also of the silent dignity with which an entire community bore unimaginable pain.