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Pulwama: Migrant Worker Shot Dead, Second Targeted Attack in 24 Hours in Kashmir
The brick kiln worker from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district has become the first non-local casualty of targeted killings in Kashmir this year. The J&K Police said that Mukesh Kumar (45) was gunned down by terrorists.
A group of migrant labourers getting instructions from a J&K police officer at their work site after one of their workers was killed in a targeted attack on Monday. Photo: The Wire.
Tumchi, Nowpora (Pulwama, J&K): With the Hindu festival of Karva Chauth two days away, Mukesh Kumar (45) planned to gift some hard-earned money to his wife who lives in a village in Uttar Pradesh along with their four small children.
A worker at a brick kiln in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, Kumar was out on a bank visit on Monday, October 30, when he was shot dead in a targeted attack, the second such incident within 24 hours in Kashmir.
The circumstances of his killing remain shrouded in mystery, but locals, who spoke with The Wire, said that Kumar’s body was recovered in Pulwama’s Tumchi Nowpora village, near the ruins of a temple which appears to have been recently demarcated with a freshly painted chain-link fence coming up around the premises.
At the brick kiln in Tumchi Nowpora where Kumar worked as a fireman, concerns began to rise on Monday morning when he didn’t return even after a good deal of time had passed. When one of his coworkers phoned him, the tragedy of Kumar’s passing began to unravel.
According to sources, Kumar was accompanied by Ram Bikhari, another worker from Uttar Pradesh, when he left the brick kiln on Monday morning to visit the bank. “Bikhari has been taken away by police for questioning to know more details,” said a source, ruling out any foul play involving Bikhari.
The migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district has become the first non-local casualty of targeted killings in Kashmir this year. The J&K Police said that Kumar was gunned down by terrorists and the area was cordoned off after the attack. However, no further details have been shared.
Kumar’s killing has sent a wave of grief and shock among more than three dozen migrant workers who live along with their families in the many shanty hutments made of raw bricks that have come up in rows inside the premises of the brick kiln.
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“What purpose will his killing serve?” said Prem Shankar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh who also works at the brick kiln, “We are poor labourers. We come here so that our families don’t die of hunger. He was earning to feed his small children. He was not committing any crime.”
A migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh breaks down while speaking with media at a brick kiln in Pulwama district. Photo: The Wire.
According to independent estimates, around 10 lakh labourers come to Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh every year to work in real estate, agriculture and other services-driven sectors. The migration starts at the onset of spring and ends before the winter chill sets in.
“There are no jobs back home, so we come here to make some earnings. Even though the situation is not good, we get good wages here which is sufficient to keep us going. But we had never thought that something like this would happen,” said Ram Kumar, a worker at the brick kiln.
Rajesh Kumar, a manpower contractor who had facilitated the fireman’s job for Kumar, said that the slain worker’s uncle also works at a brick kiln in a nearby village. “We are in touch with his family. The body was taken by police for post-mortem examination after which preparations will be made to send it to his home,” he said.
The killing doesn’t seem to have daunted the spirits of other migrant workers who work at the kiln. A new fireman has replaced Kumar already and he is filling the fuel feed holes of the kiln with more carbon powder.
A fireman adding fuel to the brick kiln in Pulwama after one of the workers there was killed in a suspected militant attack on Monday. Photo: The Wire.
“The work has to go on. If we fall behind in production, it will affect our earnings,” said the fireman, who didn’t want to be named.
The targeted attack in Pulwama was the second such incident in Kashmir within 24 hours. On Sunday, Masroor Ali Wani, a J&K Police inspector, was shot multiple times and critically injured in a targeted attack in the capital Srinagar when he was reportedly playing cricket.
The Resistance Front, which officials believe is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Toiba, had claimed responsibility for the attack. Wani is battling for life at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences and his condition remains critical, officials said.
Reacting to the attack on the police officer, the outgoing director general of J&K Police, Dilbag Singh, said the security forces “have to remain cautious as threats remain” in Jammu and Kashmir. “We can’t take things lightly,” DGP Singh, who is retiring on October 31, told reporters in Srinagar.
According to official data, nearly two dozen security personnel and 10 civilians have been killed in suspected militant attacks this year.
Security forces have also gunned down more than 70 militants in the Union territory this year with official estimates suggesting that more than 100 militants are active in Jammu and Kashmir, many of them believed to be foreigners.
Meanwhile, J&K’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the killing of the migrant worker, saying it “will not go unpunished”.
“I strongly condemn the despicable and cowardly terrorist attack in Pulwama. Heartfelt condolences to the family of Mukesh Kumar. We are firmly resolved to eliminate the terrorist menace that continues to receive encouragement and reinforcement from across the border,” he said in a message.
Pulwama: Migrant Worker Shot Dead, Second Targeted Attack in 24 Hours in Kashmir
The brick kiln worker from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district has become the first non-local casualty of targeted killings in Kashmir this year. The J&K Police said that Mukesh Kumar (45) was gunned down by terrorists.
