Srinagar, Aug 1 (UNI) The death toll in the terrorist attack on non-local workers in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district rose to two after the second injured worker succumbed to his injuries in a Srinagar hospital Friday evening, officials said.
The terrorists had fired upon two non-local workers of Chhattisgarh, at the Kellam area of Kulgam, leaving both critically injured. They were initially shifted to Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, for treatment. The attack came less than 10 days after a policeman was shot dead by a terrorist from close range in broad daylight in south Kashmir on July 22, making it the second such attack in the region within 10 days.
One of the injured workers, identified as 24-year-old Deepak Ratray, a resident of Chhattisgarh, succumbed to his injuries at GMC Anantnag.
The other injured worker, identified as 28-year-old Bopinder, also a resident of Chhattisgarh, was referred to Kashmir’s leading tertiary care hospital—Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura— for specialised treatment in critical condition. He later succumbed to his injuries during treatment, officials said.
Sources said the two workers had arrived at a brick kiln in the area around a month ago for labour work along with other workers.
They said a terrorist, dressed in civilian clothes, approached the workers and interacted with them normally before opening fire on them.
This was the first attack on non-local workers in Kashmir in nearly two years. On Oct 18, 2024, Ashok Chouhan,30, a resident of Bihar’s Banka district, was shot dead by unidentified militants in the Wachi area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Following the attack, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed the security forces to intensify operations and eliminate the terrorists.
There has been widespread condemnation of the killings of non-local labourers.
