Militants kill migrant labourer from Chhattisgarh in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama; second such attack on non-locals in two days

A migrant worker from Chhattisgarh was shot dead by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday, barely two days after another non-local was murdered in the Valley by unknown miscreants in broad daylight. The police refrained from revealing the name of the victim, who was a brick kiln worker, CNN-News18 reported. The victim had apparently stayed put at his job due to financial constraints, even after the government had appealed to all non-locals to exit the Valley before it struck down the semi-autonomous status of the state.

#Terrorists #killed a #civilian in #Kakpora area of #Pulwama. Area has been #cordoned and #searches are going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) October 16, 2019

This is the second such incident reported from the Valley after the state Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal announced the revival of some of the communication channels at a press conference on Saturday. The administration has eased out a 73-day-long communication blockade in phases, lifting the ban off postpaid mobile services in a latest move. Prepaid mobiles and internet services remain suspended in the state. [caption id=“attachment_4475121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] On Monday, a driver of an apple truck was killed and an orchard owner was assaulted in Sindhu Shirmal village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, apparently in an attempt to dissuade people from resuming trade activities and normal life.  The truck driver hailed from Rajasthan. The police suspect that two militants were responsible for the truck driver’s killing, one of whom was a Pakistani national. Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh was quoted by NDTV as saying, “One terrorist involved in the attack is a Pakistani. An operation has been launched in the area to track down the terrorists.” The police said that the militants carried out the attack to disrupt the transportation of fruits, which has picked up in the Valley since the onset of the apple harvest season. Various militant groups have time and again, issued notices warning people against resuming normal trade ties with the rest of India. The first such attack on apple traders since the lockdown in Valley began was launched in September when masked gunmen entered the house of Abdul Hamid Rather, a prominent apple trader in Dangerpora area of south Kashmir. Four people, including a five-year-old child, were injured in the incident. Following the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370, the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir, several posters had appeared in parts of Kashmir, asking the non-local labourers to leave the Valley or “face consequences”. With inputs from PTI