UP labourer shot dead by LeT terrorists in J&K’s Pulwama

SRINAGAR: Terrorist attacks hit the Kashmir valley for the second consecutive day on Monday when a labourer hailing from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in Pulwama district.

A local LeT terrorist from Pulwama district, identified as Rayees Dar, and one unidentified terrorist are responsible for the killing, police sources said.

The incident took place at Tumchi Nowpora of Pulwama district in South Kashmir at about 12:10 pm when the labourer, Mukesh Kumar, was returning from a market where he had gone to buy some culinary items, a police spokesman said. In the attack, Kumar, a native of Bhatpora village in UP, was critically injured and was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the spokesman said, adding the deceased was working at a brick kiln.

This incident came less than 24 hours after a terrorist of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba shot and critically wounded police inspector Masroor Ahmed Wani in downtown Srinagar on Sunday when he was playing cricket.

Talking to PTI video, another labourer from Uttar Pradesh, who was sharing a room with the deceased,

said that they heard the gun shot but came to know about the killing only after they were asked to identify the

deceased.

Several non-local labourers have been working in the Kashmir valley for long as carpenters, masons, plumbers, and in brick kilns as well as in weaving industry.

The attacks on migrant workers have seen an increase. Monday’s attack was the third such attack this year. A circus employee was killed by the terrorists in May this year in Anantnag district followed by gunning down and injuring three labourers from Bihar in Shopian district in July.

Security has been beefed up across Kashmir valley, especially in Srinagar and South Kashmir areas, following

the two terror attacks, officials said.

The security forces have intensified the checking of vehicles and pedestrians in several parts of Srinagar city and other towns, especially in the south Kashmir district of Pulwama, they said.

Mobile vehicle checkpoints have been established at all major intersections in Srinagar as well as at the city’s exit points, they added.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said threats are still around and policemen have to be cautious about incidents like the attack on a police officer.

“We have to be cautious. The threats are still around, we cannot take these so lightly. We have to be careful, and I pray that he would come out of it,” Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

The recent terror incidents drew widespread condemnation from various political parties.

National Conference Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah condemned both incidents and questioned the claims made by the Jammu and Kashmir administration about normalcy in the Union territory.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the killing of the labourer, saying it was “heartbreaking”.