Srinagar:Seven workers including a doctor were killed while more than ten were injured in a militant attack on the construction site of a tunnel in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir. A Pakistan based terror outfit has claimed responsibility.
Officials said a doctor from Budgam district identified as Dr Shahnawaz and six other workers were killed in the attack. The workers Faheem Nazir, Kaleem, and Mohammad Hanif, all from Bihar, Shashi Abrol from Jammu, Anil Shukla from Madhya Pradesh and Gurmeet Singh from Punjab.
TRF Claims Responsibility
A Pakistan-based terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack, IANS reported citing official sources.
"TRF Chief Sheikh Sajjad Gul, based in Pakistan, is the mastermind of this attack. On his instructions, the local module of TRF became active, which for the first time targeted Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri people together," it said.
"The number of terrorists who carried out the targeted killing of seven civilians in Gagangir area of Ganderbal district is believed to be two to three. This incident has been carried out by the local module of TRF. This module was doing recce of the crime spot for the last one month," the report added.
It said "(the) terrorist organisation (which is) active in Kashmir has targeted Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs and non-locals in the last one and a half years. This is a big change in the strategy of this module, which is simultaneously targeting non-locals and locals on development projects."
NIA inspects terror site
TheNational Investigation Agency (NIA) dispatched its team to Gagangir on Monday. The team, led by a senior official, reached the scene of the attack in the morning.
The team has begun its probe and will explore all possible angles related to the incident. "The investigation will examine the circumstances and motives behind the attack to identify those responsible," an official told ETV Bharat.
What happened?
Official sources said the workers had returned to the campsite from the tunnel when unidentified militants attacked them inside the camp during evening hours. "The attackers fired indiscriminately towards the workers. Two workers succumbed at the spotwhile five others including the doctor succumbed in the hospital," a source told ETV Bharat.
The workers were working at the tunnel at Gagangir on the Srinagar-Leh highway. Two tunnels have been constructed for the last two years on the strategic highway to keep it open round the year. Relatives of the Budgam doctor said that he was posted there recently to provide medical service to the workers and officers at the campsite.
This is the second such incident in which unidentified militants have killed non-local labourers after the elected government took over. A non-local labourer from Bihar was killed in Shopian on 16th October. The killing of the two labourers has evoked sharp condemnation from political parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah terms it ‘despicable act of cowardice’
In response to the incident, Union Home Minister Amit Shah condemned the attack, labelling it a 'despicable act of cowardice." He assured that those responsible would face severe repercussions from security forces. "I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said in a post on X.
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that he strongly condemns the horrific terror attack on innocent labourers.
JK CM, LG condole deaths
Chief minister Omar Abdullah said he felt very sad about the "dastardly cowardly attack on non-local labourers" at Gagangir in Sonamarg region. "These people were working on a key infrastructure project in the area. I strongly condemn this attack on unarmed innocent people & send my condolences to their loved ones," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the attackers will not go unpunished. "We have given full freedom to J&K Police, Army and Security forces. Our brave personnel are on the ground & they will ensure terrorists pay a very heavy price for their actions. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. The entire nation stands in solidarity with the families in this hour of grief," Sinha said.
Priyanka calls for unity
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemned the killings, stating that targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity. "The entire country is united against such acts of violence," she said, offering condolences to the bereaved families and wishing the injured a swift recovery.
Mufti, Lone join leaders in condemning attack
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the violence, expressing her condolences to the victims' families. People's Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone described the attack as an 'insane act of madness," while Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra expressed concern over the potential for such incidents to destabilise the region further.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and initiated a search operation to locate the attackers.
LG Orders Ex-Gratia
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday ordered immediate financial assistance, amounting to Rs 21 lakh per family, for civilians killed in the recent Gagangir terrorist attack.
In a statement released by the J&K administration, Sinha directed Principal Secretary of the Home Department, Chandraker Bharti, to expedite the release of aid. APCO Infratech, the private company involved in the relief efforts, has also been instructed to swiftly compensate the families of those killed.
According to the directive, the next of kin of each civilian killed will receive Rs 6 lakh from the State Relief Fund (SRE), along with Rs 15 lakh from APCO Infratech. Injured civilians will receive an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh.
Additionally, APCO Infratech will offer further financial support through its Corporate Personal Accident Policy, providing five years' worth of gross CTC to the families of the deceased. Laborers and third-party employees will be compensated under the company’s workman compensation policy.
Lt. Governor Sinha reiterated the government's commitment to supporting the victims' families. "While this loss cannot be compensated with money, we are taking every step to ensure the families of the martyred civilians receive financial assistance and live dignified lives," he said in the statement.
Violence Against Innocent Civilians Unjustified, Says Omar
Omar Abdullah said that the violence against civilians was unjustified.
"No matter how much we condemn this attack, no matter how much we speak against it, it is not enough. How is this use of violence against innocent people justified and what will be achieved by this. We have been seeing this for the last 35 years but nothing has changed in Jammu and Kashmir. Whatever Jammu and Kashmir will get, it will be given in a peaceful environment. And the reason behind this attack is that they want to show that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is not completely stable. Now the administration, especially the police and security forces, will have to maintain their alert level even more and ensure that such attacks do not take place," Omar said while speaking to the media.
Here is a list of some of the gruesome incidents when terrorists targetted innocent civilians:
15.08.1993:Militants attacked a convoy of pilgrims en-route to the Amarnath shrine killing eight people.
Wandhama Massacre:25-26 January 1998: 23 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the intervening night of 25 and 26 January 1998. They had not left Kashmir even as a majority of this community had migrated to Jammu in the wake of militancy in Kashmir.
28.07.1998:Terrorists attacked a group of Amarnath pilgrims, resulting in the deaths of 20 people. The attack took place at the Sheshnag campsite, a resting point for pilgrims on their way to the Amarnath cave.
Chittisinghpora Massacre 2000 | 20.03.2000:36 Sikh men were shot dead in Chattisinghpora village of Anantnag, Kashmir. This massacre took place during then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India. A group of masked gunmen of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba in Army fatigues barged into the village. They split into two groups and rounded up 36 Sikhs, including teenagers, the young and the elderly. They made two groups of Sikhs stand outside the two gurdwaras in the area located just 150 metres apart. The terrified Sikhs were unsure what was going to happen when in unison, both groups of gunmen fired indiscriminately at point-blank range.
02.08.2000: The biggest terror attack in the history of Amarnath Yatra, also known as the 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre. The attack killed 32 people by Kashmiri separatist militants in Pahalgam. The attack was carried out at the base camp which killed pilgrims. Around 60 people were injured during the two-hour shootout.
20.07.2001:A militant hurled two grenades at a camp and opened fired on people. The attack was carried out near Sheshnag.
14.05.2002: The Kaluchak Massacre:In a cowardly attack on May 14, 2002, three heavily-armed terrorists of Pakistan killed around 31 people in Samba of Jammu, including three army personnel, 18Army family members and 10 civilians. The terrorists who were Pakistani nationals as per investigations also threw grenades to damage vehicles and cause maximum destruction, while some victims of the attack died on the spot, many were left in critical condition.
23.03.2003:Nadimarg Massacre:24 Kashmiri Pandits were shot dead in the village of Nadimarg in South Kashmir’s Shopian district, by militants from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
02.05.2006: Doda and Udhampur Massacres 2006:35 villagers were killed in two separate communal terror strikes in the districts of Doda and Udhampur. 22 residents of the mountain hamlets of Kulhand and Tharva, including a three-year-old girl, were shot dead outside their homes. 13 shepherds were shot dead north of the Lalon Galla.
10.07.2017:Seven yatris, including five women, were killed while 19 were injured during a deadly terror attack when a Yatri bus was attacked from all sides by a group of terrorists.
29.10.2019: Five migrant workers from the Murshidabad District of West Bengal were shot dead by terrorists in the Kulgam District, while one non-local worker was injured in a second attack.
2017-2022:As per the information provided by Government of Jammu and Kashmir, 28 migrants workers have been killed since 2017.
January 1-2, 2023:Seven civilians, including two children, were killed and several others were injured in two separate terrorist incidents in the Dhangri area of Rajouri District.
09.06.2024: Around 10 people were killed and 33 injured after terrorists fired on a bus carrying pilgrims. Following the firing by terrorists, the bus fell into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. The incident occurred when the bus was returning from the Shiv Khori temple in Reasi to Katra.
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