Overview
- Gunmen opened fire in the Kellam area of Kulgam on Friday evening, witnesses reported hearing three to four rounds of gunfire before the assailants fled.
- Both victims were non-local migrant workers from Chhattisgarh; doctors identified the dead as 24-year-old Deepak Ratre and later confirmed the 28-year-old injured worker Bhopinder also died in hospital.
- The two men were taken to local medical facilities and were referred for advanced care at regional hospitals before the second victim succumbed to his wounds.
- Jammu and Kashmir security forces and police cordoned off the scene and launched large-scale search-and-sweep operations to locate the attackers.
- Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the shooting, spoke with the DGP and senior security officials, and ordered stepped-up operations; the attack follows a pattern of militants targeting non-local workers in South Kashmir and could intensify security measures for such labourers.