The killings came a day after terrorists fatally shot a roadside snack vendor from Bihar and a carpenter from UP in Pulwama within hours of each other in the city of Srinagar.
Victim – Raju Reshi Dev Police said and Joginder Reshi Deo – Laran Gangipora of Kulgam were inside a rented accommodation in Wanpoh of Wanpoh along with their Bihar native when the terrorists opened fire indiscriminately. Raja and Joginder died where they collapsed, while the third person in the room was identified as Chunchun Reshi Dev, who is said to be stable after being treated at Anantnag Hospital.
There was no damage to the migrant workers in other rooms of the rented house. A police officer quoted one of them as saying that both the dead were shot six times each.
In a message sent to 10 district police headquarters in the Valley late last night, IGP (Kashmir Range) Vijay Kumar Said, “All non-local laborers from your respective jurisdiction should be brought to the nearest police or central paramilitary force or army establishment right now. The matter is urgent.”
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the workers killed. He also called on Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, demanding adequate protection for migrants from Bihar who are living in the UT as roadside vendors or labourers. “I strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack on civilians in Kulgam. Our security forces will give a befitting reply to the terrorists. The Jammu and Kashmir government stands with the families in this hour of grief.” Sinha Said later.
Former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, “There are not enough words to condemn the repeated barbaric attacks on innocent civilians. My heart goes out to their families as they live in the comforts of their homes to earn a respectable livelihood. -Leave facilities. Very sad. ”
The series of terrorist attacks on civilians started with the killing of two Kashmiri Muslims on 2 October. Three days later, Makhan Lal Bindu, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit trader and a pani puri vendor from Bihar, Virendra Paswan, was shot dead by TRF affiliated to Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba in separate incidents in Srinagar. On 7 October, the terrorist organization attacked a school in Srinagar again, checking the identity cards of employees before ousting Kashmiri Sikh principal Supinder Kaur and her Kashmiri Pandit aide Deepak Chand.
Since then, migrant workers have been the target of select terror attacks, all except one from Bihar. Among the victims on Saturday were pani puri vendor Arabind Kumar Sah and carpenter. Sagir Ahmadi.
Terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir this year have killed 30 civilians, including Akash Mehra, son of the owner of popular Srinagar eatery Krishna Dhaba. He was seriously injured by terrorists on 17 February.
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