Srinagar, July 13 :Three migrant labourers from Bihar were shot at and injured in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian districts on Thursday evening, police said.The apparent target attack took place in the Gagran area of Shopian at around 8.30 pm.Police said terrorists fired upon three outside labourers in Shopian this evening injuring three of them. The injured were identified as Anmol Kumar, Pintu Kumar Thakur, and Hiralal Yadav, all residents of Supaul, Bihar.“After receiving first aid at Shopian hospital, the three were shifted to Srinagar hospital for treatment,” officials said.
They said soon after the attack, security forces cordoned off the area and a massive hunt was launched to trace the attackers suspected to be two in number.The attack on non-locals took place at a time when security is on a high alert across Kashmir due to the ongoing Amarnath Yatra that began on July 1.This was the third attack on non-locals and minorities in Kashmir this year.On February 26, a Kashmiri Pandit working as a security guard at a bank was shot dead by militants at Achen in south Kashmir’s Pulwama districtOver three months later on May 29, Deepu, a resident of Udhampur, who was working at a private circus mela at an amusement park, was shot dead near Jagland Mandi in Anantnag town.Since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019, there have been a series of attacks on minority community members and non-locals in the Valley.Meanwhile, National Conference vice-president, Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti condemned the attack.”Very unfortunate. I unreservedly condemn this attack and send my best wishes to the injured. I hope they make a complete and speedy recovery,” Abdullah said in a tweet.“Condemn the attack on non-locals at Shopian today. I pray for their swift recovery,” Mufti tweeted.The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly denounced the attack on unarmed non-local labourers in Shopian“This reflects the frustration, inhumanity and cheapness of terrorists involved in the gruesome attack on three non-local labourers who had gone to buy grocery items. Urge police to track those involved in the gruesome act and punish them sternly. Praying for the speedy recovery of all three injured men,” BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said. (UNI)