After police officer, migrant labourer shot dead by militants in Kashmir

A day after the targeted killing of an off-duty police inspector, militants shot dead a migrant labourer in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Monday.

“Terrorists fired upon a labourer identified as Mukesh of Uttar Pradesh in Tumchi Nowpora area of Pulwama, who later on succumbed to his injuries.

The attack came a day after a police inspector, Masroor Ahmad Wani, was shot dead with a pistol from point blank range by the militants in Eidgah area of Srinagar when he was playing cricket.

A lone shooter reportedly pumped at least three to four bullets at Wani near Eidgah ground, which is normally bustling on Sundays with local cricket-enthusiasts. He was married recently and his wife is reportedly pregnant.

The Resistance Front, believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes after a brief lull in targeted attacks on civilians and off-duty policemen in Kashmir.

While the attacks on the migrant labourers started in the Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, saw a sharp increase in 2022. Last year, 10 migrant workers, including a bank manager from Rajasthan and a teacher, were killed and over a dozen injured in a series of militant attacks, mostly in south Kashmir.

The latest attacks have created a sense of fear and widespread panic in the Valley, particularly among the minorities.

Meanwhile, outgoing chief of Jammu and Kashmir police Dilbagh Singh Monday said that things can’t be taken lightly and there is a need to remain cautious as threats continue to lurk.

Singh, who is retiring on October 31, said that Pakistan continues to push in terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.