Srinagar: The spate of killings of non-local labourers has evoked fear among the thousands of labourers who arrive in Kashmir every year and they have started fleeing the Valley. Five non-local labourers have been killed by unidentified militants in the last two weeks creating fear among the workers and posing a challenge to security forces. Dozens of labourers fled today from Srinagar in Jammu-bound cabs with their belongings. The labourers said they feel vulnerable after the attacks.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Gautam Kumar, who was working in Srinagar said that his family called him from Bihar and told him to come home."We watched on TV and on social media the reports about the killings of non-local labourers. We feel threatened and are leaving home for safety," Kumar said.
Thousands of non-labourers arrive in Kashmir every year to work at construction sites and paddy fields. With the onset of winter, they rush back to their homes, while many stay back during winters.
Many labourers told ETV Bharat that they are leaving home as their work season has ended in Kashmir. Rakesh Kumar of Bihar said that he was leaving home to celebrate Diwali festival with his family.
On the other hand, Eid Ahmad, a labourer from Bihar, said that he was not leaving Kashmir and he does not feel threatened even as he has heard about the killing.
Reacting to the killing of two Bihari in Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Bihar Minister of Industries said that the Indian Army will make militants pay for their brutal activities. Hussain said, "The militants have dared to cross the limit. Indian Army will not spare them. They will get a befitting reply. The killing of Bihar labourers in Jammu and Kashmir is a coward act of militants."
Earlier, two non-local labourers from Bihar were shot dead on Sunday in Kulgam by unidentified militants, while two non-local labourers, one from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were killed in Srinagar and Pulwama. The first non-local labourer was killed in Downtown in Srinagar. The killings started last week when a well-known chemist Makhan Lal Bindroo, a Kashmiri Pandit, was killed, followed by a Sikh and Hindu teacher, Supinder Kour and Deepak Chand in a government school in Srinagar.
Militant outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF), which police say is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for these civilian killings. The police have shifted hundreds of non-local labourers to safer places in government buildings after an advisory by the Kashmir police zone to district police officials. Though the issuance of the advisory was denied by the Inspector General Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, district police officials have shifted the non-local labourers to the government buildings.
Officials said that it was not possible to provide security to all non-local labourers as they are spread across villages and towns. Following the killings, security forces intensified anti-militancy operations, killing 13 militants in nine encounters. Police said that among the slain militants five were involved in the killing of civilians including the labourers.
In the wake of the killings, police have detained about 900 people across Kashmir for alleged links with militants and separatists in its major crackdown to nab the attackers. Despite the operations against militants, killings of non-local as well as local civilians continue in the Valley. This year, 32 civilians including political activists, non-local labourers have been killed in the Valley, sparking fear among people.
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