Hundreds of non-local workers shifted to secure locations
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Oct 17: Hundreds of non-locals have been shifted to secure locations by Police after two labourers from Bihar were killed by militants in Kulgam district of South Kashmir this evening.
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Militants today shot dead two labourers from Bihar in Kulgam district of South Kashmir taking the number of civilians killed in targeted attacks in Jammu and Kashmir this month to 11.
An official said that District Police has been directed to shift the vulnerable non-local labourers to secure locations. He said that a communication for shifting was sent to all SSPs.
After the communication, police shifted hundreds of non-locals to secure places this evening and the process was on when reports last poured in.
In Choora Sopore, police have shifted 70 labourers to a Government school after fearing militant attack.
An official said that there are over 2-3 lakh non-local labourers working in Kashmir and their exodus will badly hit the construction works and horticulture sector.
Earlier, two militants barged into the rented residence of labourers from Bihar at Vanpoh in Kulgam district this evening and fired at them. Two of them were killed and another labourer was injured in the incident.
The dead have been identified as Raja Reshi Dev of Bihar, Jogindar Reshi Dev of Bihar and the injured as Chun Chun Reshi Dev. They were putting up at rented accommodation in the shop of Mashooq Ahmad Dar son of Manzoor Ahmad Dar of Gassipora.
The incident happened near residence of former MLA Homshali Bugh Abdul Majeed Bhat alias Larmi.
The killings came a day after a hawker from Bihar and a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh were shot dead by in the Valley.
The hawker, Arbind Kumar Sah, was shot at point-blank range in Srinagar. The carpenter, Sagir Ahmad, was shot dead in Pulwama.
Of the 11 people killed in the spate of attacks on civilians, five were from other States.
Among the victims are Makhan Lal Bindroo, a prominent member of the Kashmiri Pandit community and owner of a pharmacy in Srinagar, Mohammad Shafi Lone, a taxi driver, teachers Deepak Chand and Supender Kaur and street food vendor Virender Paswan.
The killings have sparked fear in the Valley, prompting an exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit families living in transit camps. Dozens of families, including those of Government employees who returned to the Valley after getting jobs under the Prime Minister’s Special Scheme for Kashmiri migrants, have left.
The security forces have also intensified anti-militancy operations in Kashmir. Police killed 13 militants in last 10 days.
“13 terrorists have been killed in nine encounters after civilian killings. We have killed three out of five terrorists in Srinagar in less than 24 hours,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.
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