Two local LeT terrorists carried out attack on non-local labourers: Police
Srinagar/Jammu: Two local terrorists of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba are believed to be behind the attack on three non-local labourers in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday, officials have said.
Kashmir Police chief Vijay Kumar has directed personnel to apprehend those responsible for the attack as soon as possible.
Terrorists on Thursday shot at and injured three non-local labourers at Gagran village of the south Kashmir district. The injured labourers were identified as Anmol Kumar, Pintu Kumar Thakur and Heralal Yadav — all residents of Bihar’s Supaul district.
Two masked men entered the first floor of a building at Gagran and fired on the three labourers.
The officials said on Friday that based on human and technical intelligence, the police believe two local Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives carried out the attack.
“Two local boys affiliated with the proscribed LeT outfit are believed to be responsible for the attack,” they said.
“Raids are being carried out in adjoining villages and various parts of the district,” the officials added.
Many terror associates have been picked up and their sustained questioning is underway, the officials said, adding that the police have got vital clues in the case.
Additional Director General of Police Vijay Kumar reviewed the overall security in the district, especially in areas where non-locals and members of the minority community reside, the officials said.
Security has been beefed up in such areas, they said.
“Kumar directed the police to catch those responsible for the attack as soon as possible and bring them to justice,” the officials said.
Thursday’s firing incident was the second such attack on non-locals in Kashmir this year.
On May 29, a non-local civilian, identified as Deepu, was shot dead in the Janglaat Mandi area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag District.
Deepu, a resident of Udhampur district in the Jammu region, worked at a private circus in Anantnag.
Before that, on February 26, terrorists shot dead a man belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community in the Achan area of Pulwama district. The victim was identified as Sanjay Sharma (40), a resident of Achan.
This year has so far witnessed fewer such incidents compared to last year.
Terrorists killed 29 civilians in Kashmir in 2022.
Of them, 21 were locals — six Hindus, including three Kashmiri Pandits, and 15 Muslims, while eight were from other states.
Among the eight non-locals killed, two were Muslims while six were Hindus.
Meanwhile, protests against the attack on three migrant labourers in Shopian were held in Jammu on Friday, with protesters burning the Pakistani flag and accusing the neighbouring country of trying to destabilise the situation in Kashmir.
Shiv Sena Dogra Front (SSDF) activists, led by its chairman Ashok Gupta, gathered at Rain Park here and burned the Pakistani flag.
“Pakistan is trying to destabilise the situation in Kashmir. Firstly, the terrorists killed a soldier in Kashmir and now they targeted these Hindu labourers. We condemn the attack,” Gupta told reporters here.
The Ekam Sanatan Bharat and the Ikkjutt Jammu Party’s youth wing also held a demonstration at Hari Singh Park to denounce the attack.
Members of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal raised anti-Pakistan slogans and burned the country’s flag at a protest here. They condemned the “deliberate attacks” on innocent civilians in Kashmir.
Press Trust of India
