Srinagar: The second migrant labourer injured terrorist attack at a brick kiln in Kulgam district succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, prompting Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to order intensified anti-terror operations while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh each for the families of the two victims.
The deceased, identified as Bopinder, a native of Chhattisgarh, was critically injured when terrorists opened fire on two labourers at a brick kiln in the Kelam area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district late on Friday evening.
He was initially admitted to Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, and later referred to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment on Saturday.
The first victim, Deepak Ratray, had died shortly after the attack on Friday before he could be shifted to hospital. Both victims were in their twenties and hailed from Chhattisgarh, where they had travelled from to earn their livelihood while working at the brick kiln in Kulgam.
Following the death of the second labourer, security forces intensified search operations across Kulgam and adjoining areas to track down the terrorists responsible for the attack. Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, along with senior officers of the police and other security agencies, visited the attack site and reviewed the security situation and the ongoing operations.
Security has also been heightened across the Valley, particularly in south Kashmir, with intensified checking and frisking of persons and vehicles at vulnerable locations as part of the anti-terror response.
In the wake of the attack, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level security review meeting at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, DGP Nalin Prabhat, Principal Secretary, Home Department Chandraker Bharti, Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Senior Superintendents of Police and other senior officers of the civil administration and police.
The Lieutenant Governor directed security forces to intensify precise and high-impact anti-terror operations to neutralise terrorists and dismantle their support networks.
He also instructed all Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police to undertake a comprehensive review of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) formulated for the protection of labourers from outside Jammu and Kashmir.
Sinha further directed that employers must ensure all workers from other States and Union Territories are covered under insurance schemes and that their details are properly registered with the local police and district administration. He also instructed the authorities to ensure dignified last rites for the victims and extend every possible support to their bereaved families.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah strongly condemned the killing of the two migrant labourers and expressed profound grief over the loss of innocent lives.
He announced an ex-gratia relief of ₹10 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the next of kin of the deceased. The compensation will be in addition to the ₹6 lakh immediate assistance already announced by the district administration.
The last rites of the two deceased labourers were performed in the Palpora area of Kulgam in the presence of their family members and senior officers of the civil administration and police.
The terrorist attack came less than ten days after terrorists shot dead a police officer deployed on Amarnath Yatra duty in Anantnag district on July 22, following which security agencies detained more than 3,000 suspected overground workers as part of intensified anti-terror operations.
The latest incident also revived memories of the February 7, 2024 terror attack in Srinagar’s Shaheed Gunj area, where two non-local workers from Punjab—Amritpal Singh and Rohit Masih—were shot dead by terrorists.
Political parties across Jammu and Kashmir strongly condemned the attack.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah termed the killings unfortunate and called for a fair and transparent investigation into the incident. Questioning the timing of such attacks, he remarked that incidents of this nature tend to occur whenever the demand for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood gathers momentum.
People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti described the killings as a serious security lapse and demanded a thorough probe into how the attack took place despite the heavy deployment of security forces for the ongoing Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra. She said the Lieutenant Governor-led administration, which is responsible for law and order in the Union Territory, must examine the circumstances that enabled the attack.
Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also condemned the killings, describing them as inhuman, barbaric and cowardly, and called for an end to violence.
Authorities said the search for the attackers is continuing, with security agencies maintaining a high state of alert across the Kashmir Valley and stepping up measures to safeguard migrant workers engaged in various sectors across Jammu and Kashmir.
