Two migrant labourers including one from Nepal, who were working at a private school in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, were shot at and injured by militants Thursday.
“#Terrorist fired upon two outside labourers (01 from Bihar & second from Nepal), who were working at a private SAPS school at #Bondialgam in #Anantnag district. Both of them are being shifted to hospital. Further details shall follow,” Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.
The attack — the latest in a grisly sequence of targeted violence — has created a sense of fear among the minority community members in the Valley. Since last October, militants have stepped up attacks on migrant labourers and non-locals in Kashmir.
On October 18, two non-local labourers from Uttar Pradesh were killed in a targeted grenade attack in Harmen area of the neighbouring Shopian district. On October 15, a Kashmiri Pandit (Hindu) farmer was shot dead by militants in the same district.
Hitherto lesser known ‘Kashmir Freedom Fighters’, an offshoot of Al- Badr militant outfit, has been claiming responsibility for these attacks. Prior to that, The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, used to claim responsibility for most such attacks.
The outside labourers constitute around 80 per cent of the workforce required in constructions and development sectors in Kashmir.