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Bangla-speaking workers shot dead in J&K


Published : 30 Oct 2019 09:16 PM | Updated : 29 Aug 2020 06:07 PM

Five Bangla-speaking labourers from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district were shot dead by militants in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday night.  

Deputy Commissioner of Kulgam Showkat Ajaz said the militants barged into a rented accommodation of the migrant labourers, who worked in apple orchards at Katrasoo village, dragged them out and shot them at a place about 200m away.

The five killed on Tuesday night were identified as Naimuddin Sheikh, Murshalim Sheikh, Rafiqul Sheikh, Rafique Sheikh and Kamaruddin Sheikh, all from Murshidabad’s Sagardighi.

Another labourer identified as Zahooruddin from Sagardighi was hit by a bullet in the leg when he tried to escape. 

This was the fifth attack in two weeks in which people from outside Jammu and Kashmir have been targeted.

The incident came on a day a group of 23 European lawmakers met senior army and administration officials in Kashmir Valley seeking a first-hand assessment of the situation in the midst of violent protests in several parts of the region.

Tuesday’s attack is the sixth in a series of incidents targeting non-residents in Kashmir and the second in 24 hours, taking the death toll to 11 in the last two weeks.

Six persons, including four truckers, a fruit trader and a labourer, were killed in similar attacks earlier. On Monday evening, suspected militants shot dead a trucker from Jammu after he had parked his apple-laden vehicle on a road in Anantnag district.

The European lawmakers are the first international group to visit Kashmir since August 5 when the Indian government scrapped the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two federally-ruled territories and imposed restrictions on movement and telecommunication links. Many of those curbs have been eased since then.

Tens of thousands of migrant labourers had fled the Valley in the weeks after the nullification of Article 370 which bestowed special status on Jammu and Kashmir.

However, many more labourers stayed back in Kashmir and are increasingly becoming the target of militants. Most of the labourers work in apple orchards and other agriculture and horticulture activities. 

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday condemned the killing of five workers from the state's Murshidabad district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Extending his condolences, Dhankhar appealed to the state government and NGOs to help the kin of the deceased.

Expressing her shock and grief, Mamata had earlier tweeted that all help will be extended to the families of the deceased.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened at the brutal killings in Kashmir. Five workers from Murshidabad lost their lives. Words will not take away the grief of the families of the deceased. All help will be extended to the families in this tragic situation," Banerjee tweeted.