SRINAGAR: terrorists on Friday shot at and injured two migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, officials said.
This is the fifth targeted attack on migrant workers in the Valley since the Omar Abdullah-led government assumed power on October 16. At least 15 people, including six migrant workers, two soldiers, and three terrorists, have been killed in different militancy incidents in the union territory in 10 days.
On the Friday evening attack, a police official said terrorists shot at the two migrant workers—identified as Sufiyan and Usman from UP—in Mazhama area in Budgam district in the evening. The injured workers were shifted to Srinagar hospital where doctors attending to them said their condition is stable.
The injured labourers were working on the construction of a water tank. Police said the two were working at Mazhama graveyard on the banks of Nallah Sukhnag when terrorists fired at them from close range.
“One of them sustained a bullet injury in the arm and another in the leg,” police said.
After the attack, a contingent of police, CRPF, and army rushed to the area and launched a search operation to track down the attackers. The search operation was going on.
Two days after the Abdullah government assumed charge, terrorists carried out the first attack on migrant workers in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. In the attack, a migrant worker from Bihar was killed.
Two days later, terrorists attacked an under-construction site of AFCO Infra at Gagangir in Ganderbal district of J&K. They fired indiscriminately on the workers at the campsite, killing five migrant workers and two J&K residents including a doctor.
Four days later, militants shot at and injured a migrant worker from UP at Batagund village in Tral in Pulwama district. On the same evening, terrorists launched an attack on an army vehicle at Botapathri area in Gulmarg sector, close to Line of Control, killing two soldiers and two army porters.
Three days after Batagund incident, terrorists attacked an army convoy in Akhnoor area of Jammu district. In the ensuing two-day encounter, all the three holed-up terrorists, said to be affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad, were killed.
A retired security official said the militants seemed to be waiting for the elections to be over to carry out the attacks to remain in the news. Former J&K police chief S P Vaid said, “Security agencies should beef up intelligence network and strengthen counter-infiltration grid at LoC and International Border to prevent infiltration and weapons into J&K.”