Mamata Banerjee condoles death of labourers in Kashmir, says 'help will be extended to families'

Expressing shock at the killing of five workers from West Bengal in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her government would extend all help to the bereaved families. "We are shocked and deeply saddened at the brutal killings in Kashmir. Five workers from Murshidabad lost their lives. Words will not take away the grief of the families of the deceased," Banerjee said in a social media post.

"All help will be extended to the families in this tragic situation," she said. Five labourers from Sagardighi area in Murshidabad district were killed and another injured in a terror attack in Kashmir's Kulgam district on Tuesday. All the five have been identified as -- Sheikh Kamrudin, Sheikh Mohd Rafiq, Sheikh Murnsulin, Sheikh Nizam u Din and Mohd Rafiq Sheikh. The injured has been identified as Zahoor Din Sheikh.

Sources said that some more labourers could be missing. Security forces have rushed to the spot and thrown a cordon around the area, while a high alert has been sounded. The attack came as a delegation of Members of European Parliament arrived in Srinagar to see the ground situation, amid sporadic incidents of violence and a shutdown. Their visit triggered violence with incidents of stone-pelting and clashes were reported from several areas in Srinagar including Chanpora, Rambagh, and Maisuma among others, leaving six people reportedly injured.

Shops and businesses remained closed and even private transport was playing less than routine in view of heightened tension. In some areas, youths had blocked the road to prevent the movement of traffic. There were also reports of firing on a security patrol in Drubgaon in Pulwama in south Kashmir, but no injuries were reported. However, on Monday night, a truck driver was shot dead by terrorists in Anantnag.

It was the fourth attack in a week in the Kashmir Valley. Earlier, two truck drivers, both from outside the Kashmir Valley, were killed by terrorists in Shopian. Before that, two terrorists, including a suspected Pakistani national, shot dead a truck driver from Rajasthan and assaulted an orchard owner, also in Shopian.