Mamata Banerjee expresses grief after killings of 5 Bengali workers in Kashmir, says ‘all help will be extended to families’

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday condoled the death of five workers from the state who were murdered by terrorists in Kashmir Valley. Expressing shock and grief over the killings in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Mamata assured the families of the victims of ‘all help and assistance’ possible. Describing the killings as brutal, Mamata tweeted, “We are shocked and deeply saddened at the brutal killings in Kashmir. Five workers from Murshidabad lost their lives. Words will not take away the grief of the families of the deceased.”

“All help will be extended to the families in this tragic situation,” she added. Five labourers, hailing from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Tuesday. According to reports, another labourer was critically injured. “Unknown terrorists shot dead five laborers and injured one. The injured was evacuated to the district hospital in Anantnag. All the labourers were from Murshidabad, West Bengal,” the CRPF said. After the incident, security forces launched a cordon and search operation. “Troops of 18 Battalion Army and JKP reached the spot and cordoned off the area and a search operation has started,” the CRPF added. The attack took place on a day when a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union visited the Valley  to talk to locals about their experience and assess the ground situation following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August.