The shooting occurred at Kellam village on Friday evening when gunmen targeted the two labourers and fled. Deepak Ratray, 24, died from his injuries shortly after the attack. Bhupinder, 28, was taken to hospital in critical condition but died during treatment early on Saturday.
Security forces cordoned off the village and surrounding areas soon after the firing. Personnel from Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Army joined the operation, establishing checkpoints and searching routes that could have been used by the assailants.
Investigators were examining the circumstances of the shooting, including whether the attackers had conducted surveillance of the brick kiln before striking. No arrest had been announced by Saturday morning, while security personnel continued searches in villages, orchards and forested areas around the attack site.
The Resistance Front, which security agencies describe as a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, was reported to have claimed responsibility. Officials were assessing the authenticity of the claim and possible links between the gunmen and militant support networks operating in southern Kashmir.
The killings marked the first fatal attack specifically targeting migrant labourers in Jammu and Kashmir in about 21 months. The earlier such incident occurred in October 2024, when a labourer from Bihar was killed in Shopian district.
That period also witnessed a major attack at a tunnel construction site near Gagangir in Ganderbal district. Gunmen entered a workers’ camp and killed six labourers and a doctor. The victims were involved in building the Z-Morh tunnel, an infrastructure project intended to provide year-round access between Srinagar and the tourist destination of Sonamarg.
Migrant workers form an important part of Jammu and Kashmir’s construction, agriculture, brick-making and service sectors. Thousands travel from Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other states each year, particularly during the warmer months when building and farming activity increases.
Targeted attacks on these workers have previously caused temporary departures from the Kashmir Valley. Security authorities have responded by increasing patrols around labour settlements, construction sites, brick kilns and rented accommodation. Employers have also been encouraged to register workers and provide local police with information about their residences.
The Kellam shooting has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of labourers employed at scattered worksites outside heavily guarded urban areas. Brick kilns are often located on the edges of villages or near open agricultural land, making permanent security deployment difficult.
Southern Kashmir, comprising Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag districts, has remained a focus of counter-terrorism operations because of its terrain and history of militant activity. Dense orchards, forest belts and interconnected villages can offer escape routes, while security forces rely on intelligence networks, surveillance equipment and mobile checkpoints to restrict movement after attacks.
Violence targeting civilians has been used by militant groups to create fear, disrupt economic activity and challenge official claims of improving security. Workers from outside Jammu and Kashmir have been singled out at different times because attacks against them can generate wider attention and discourage labour movement into the region.
Authorities have strengthened protection around major infrastructure projects following earlier attacks. Security assessments now include workers’ accommodation, access roads, lighting, perimeter controls and emergency evacuation arrangements. Smaller private worksites, however, can be harder to secure because labourers may live in temporary shelters spread across rural locations.
Investigators are expected to examine mobile-phone records, surveillance footage and information collected from people living near the brick kiln. Police teams are also likely to question suspected militant associates and check whether unfamiliar individuals were seen in Kellam before the shooting.
(IPA Service)
