2 UP labourers killed in Shopian grenade attack, 2 held

SRINAGAR: Two labourers hailing from Uttar Pradesh were killed apparently in their sleep when terrorists lobbed a grenade at them on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday in militancy-infested Shopian district of South Kashmir, officials said.

The incident took place around 12.30 am on Tuesday when the victims identified as Monish Kumar and Ram Sagar, natives of UP’s Kannauj district, were sleeping in a tin shed constructed as an out house, the officials said, adding the duo was working in the apple orchards as labourers. The fresh attack came two days after terrorists shot dead Kashmiri pandit Puran Krishan Bhat outside his house at Gund village in the same district. The labourers, who had come to the Kashmir valley two months ago, were rushed to a hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

Additional Director General of Police (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar said a hybrid terrorist of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group, who lobbed the grenade, has been arrested, along with another person who is believed to be working for banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.

Hybrid terrorists are unlisted radicalised youths who carry out terror strikes and slip back into their routine lives often without leaving any trace. Kannauj Superintendent of Police Kunwar Anupam Singh said, “After the post-mortem of the deceased labourers is done, their bodies will be brought to Lucknow by an aircraft. From Lucknow, the bodies will reach their village by road.” The killings drew criticism from administration as well as political parties with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha saying that “words cannot adequately condemn today’s barbaric terror attack on Manish Kumar and Ram Sagar from Kannauj, UP...“...security apparatus has been directed to launch coordinated CT (counter terror) ops”.