New Delhi: A migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead in Kashmir’s Pulwama district Monday, a day after an inspector was shot at and wounded in Srinagar.
In an official statement, Kashmir Police said the deceased, identified as Mukesh Kumar, fell victim to a “terror crime” when he was returning from market area and was found in injured condition at Tumchi Nowpora area of Pulwama district.
Police officials who had rushed to the spot shifted him to hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival. Kashmir Police also said that the crime took place in the area between Pulwama and Budgam districts and a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in the case under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
“Officers attending the terror crime spot learnt that an outside labourer, identified as Mukesh Kumar son of Ganga Prasad resident of Bhatpora, Samadha Uttar Pradesh, was found in an injured condition in the orchard area of Tumchi Nowpora. He was immediately shifted to hospital for treatment where doctors declared him brought dead,” said the statement.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the said labourer was engaged at B7 Brick Klin at Tumchi Nowpora and had gone to market for purchasing culinary items. While on his way back, he was targeted by the terrorists, injuring him critically.”
Sources in Kashmir Police have suggested that a local terrorist linked with terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba named Rayees Dar and one unidentified terrorist are responsible for the killing.
Speaking to ThePrint Monday, a senior police officer said: “We have found some promising leads in the killing. The police are working on the ground to nab the culprits.”
The labourer’s death is the first casualty this year in what appear to be targeted attacks on people coming to the Valley for work from other parts of the country. A total of 10 such attacks were reported from Kashmir last year.
On Sunday, an off-duty inspector of the Jammu & Kashmir Police, Masroor Ahmad, was shot at when he was playing cricket at Eidgah ground in Srinagar.
Prior to the attack on the labourer, two migrant labourers were shot at and injured in Anantnag district in July this year. The men, Akshay and Saurav, both from Maharashtra, were rushed to hospital.
The same month, three migrant labourers were shot at and injured in Shopian district of south Kashmir. The police named the victims as Anmol Kumar, Heeralal Yadav and Pintu Kumar, all hailing from Bihar.
Outfits such as The Resistance Front, People’s Anti-Fascist Front, United Liberation Front J&K, Muslim Janbaz Force, Kashmir Janbaaz Force, Kashmir Tigers, Kashmir Fight, Mujahideen Ghazwat-ul-Hind and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force have claimed responsibility for these targeted attacks in the past.
According to J&K Police data, accessed by ThePrint, 27 civilians were killed in the Kashmir valley between October 2021 and 2022.
The data showed that 21 of these 27 were local residents, including sarpanches, and six were “outsiders” or people from other parts of the country who either worked as labourers in agricultural fields or construction sites, or in shops as helpers.
Most of the killings were carried out by The Resistance Front, an arm of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, police sources said.
“The terror groups cannot digest the fact that there is peace in Kashmir. To create a stir, they target poor labourers — an easy target. This shows their desperation to remain relevant. Security has been beefed up and searches are on,” the police officer mentioned earlier said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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