JAMMU: One non-local Hindu worker from Uttar Pradesh and another from Chhattisgarh were killed after terrorists fired upon them in Kellam area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on evening of July 31. Officials said the terrorists targeted two non-locals in Kellam. Both were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
According to the latest reports both of them succumbed to injuries. One of them who was earlier injured was shifted to Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag for advanced treatment. His condition was critical. Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track the attackers.
🚨Kulgam Terror Attack : Non Local labourer hailing from Chhattisgarh shot at by terrorists in Kellam. Terrorists also fired at another labourer from UP, who is currently in a critical condition.
Security forces have increased frisking around South Kashmir area #Kulgamterror pic.twitter.com/1NqdRKPl9R— Simran (@SimranBabbar_05) July 31, 2026
After giving some treatment to the injured labourer from Chhatisgarh at GMC Anantnag, he is now being moved to Sher Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has strongly condemned the brutal terror attack on labourers in Kulgam. Mr Sinha spoke with the Director General of Police, J&K and top security officials. He has directed the security forces to step up their operations and eliminate the terrorists.
The Lieutenant Governor wrote on X: “I spoke with the DGP, Shri Nalin Prabhat and top security officials following the brutal terrorist attack in Kulgam in which a labourer from Chhattisgarh was killed. I strongly condemn this cowardly act. I have directed our security forces to step up their operations and eliminate the terrorists.’’
Sinha said that the Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“J&K Police and Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to bring the perpetrators to justice. Another injured labourer from Chhattisgarh has been rushed to the hospital for urgent medical care,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor expressed condolences to the family of the deceased labourer and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
“My deepest condolences to the bereaved family and I am praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. J&K administration and the entire nation stand with the families,” Sinha said.
Another injured labourer from Chhattisgarh has been rushed to the hospital for urgent medical care. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family and I am praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. J&K administration and the entire nation stand with the families.”
Incidentally, targeting of non-locals, particularly Hindus from all over India, has been a regular tactic used by the terrorists for past several years. This used to happen every once in a while, on regular basis. This was, and is, a tactic that Pakistan-backed terrorist proxies have always used to frame it in radical Islamist frame of narration.
In this most recent attack also, terrorists targeted the non-local workers named Deepak and Bhupinder hailing from Chhatisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. They were employed as daily wage workers in a brick kiln in Kellam area. In the past, there were some incidents of killing of non-local brick kiln workers. In an attempt to prevent such attacks, the police had advised installation of close circuit TV cameras to keep track of any suspicious movements.
It is, however, after a long time that workers in a brick kiln anywhere in Kashmir have been targeted.
In the recent years, such attacks on non-local Indians have been carried out by a comparatively new terrorist organisation called The Resistance Front (IRF). According to intelligence agencies, TRF is a frontal organisation working for banned terrorist organisation Lashkar- e-Toiba (LeT). This organisation was floated at the behest of Pakistan which was facing closer and intense scrutiny internationally for propping up terrorist organisations.
After the abrogation of Article 35-A and neutering of Article 370 in August 2019, TRF had carried out two infamous attacks in this manner. In one such attack, terrorists had killed a Hindu goldsmith originally hailing from Amritsar and in the second, they had killed a young family member of owners of the popular Krishna Dhaba located in Durga Naag area of Srinagar city.
It may be stated here that this is the second terrorist attack in South Kashmir region during the ongoing Shri Amarnath yatra when the security forces are on a high state of alert. Some days ago, a lone terrorist has shot dead a policeman on duty at a busy market in Anantnag district. He was shot dead at point blank range.
