Toll in terror attack targeting migrant workers from West Bengal rises to six after another labourer succumbs

The toll in the militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district climbed to six on Wednesday after another migrant labourer succumbed to his injuries, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said. “Five migrant labourers from West Bengal were shot dead by terrorists in Kulgam district on Tuesday. A labourer was critically injured in the incident and later succumbed to injuries,” police said. The incident, which happened on a day a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union visited Kashmir to assess the ground situation, marked the sixth such terror attack in two weeks targeting people from outside the Valley. “All the victims hailed from Murshidabad district of West Bengal and worked as daily wage workers,” an official said. According to Hindustan Times, three or four unidentified assailants forcefully entered into a house in Kulgam’s Katrasoo village and shot the labourers. The police sounded a high alert in the area. In the past two weeks, militants gunned down four truck drivers, a trader from Punjab, and a migrant worker from Rajasthan. The total number of victims from outside the state stood at 12. In a gradually visible trend of late, militants have been targeting labourers, who come to the Valley to earn their livelihoods from outside the state, to create fear among them and disrupt trade. After the abrogation of Article 370 that gave special privileges to the state, on 5 August, many of them fled the Valley. But experts estimate that many more who stayed back for work are becoming the target of militants. #UPDATE Jammu and Kashmir Police sources: Security forces have cordoned the area and a massive search operation is going on there. Additional security forces have  been called in. Labourers killed by terrorists were believed to be from West Bengal and were working as daily wagers. https://t.co/KmYZ1G93ao

#UPDATE Jammu and Kashmir Police sources: Security forces have cordoned the area and a massive search operation is going on there. Additional security forces have been called in. Labourers killed by terrorists were believed to be from West Bengal and were working as daily wagers. https://t.co/KmYZ1G93ao

— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2019

Since the Centre’s decision on Article 370, terrorists have been targeting truckers and labourers, mainly who have come to the Valley from outside Kashmir. On Monday, a trucker from Udhampur district was killed by militants in Anantnag. This was the fourth truck driver to be killed by militants since 5 August. On 24 October, terrorists killed two non-Kashmiri truck drivers in Shopian district. On 14 October, two terrorists, including a suspected Pakistani national, shot dead the driver of a truck having Rajasthan registration number and assaulted an orchard owner in Shopian district. The driver was identified as Sharief Khan. A Punjab-based apple trader Charanjeet Singh was killed and a truck driver identified as Sanjeev was injured on 16 October when terrorists attacked them in the Shopian district. The same day, a brick kiln worker from Chhattisgarh was shot dead by militants in Pulwama district. With inputs from agencies