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Circus worker killed by terrorists in Anantnag cremated
Deepu’s visually impaired elder brother Raju lit the pyre. Additional SP, tehsildar, village sarpanch, BJP leaders RS Pathania and Pawan Khajuria among others who paid their last respects.
Amid wails of his pregnant wife and other family members, the body of Deepu, a circus worker, was cremated at his native village Thial in Majalta block of Udhampur on Tuesday afternoon. He was killed by terrorists in a targeted attack in Anantnag on Monday evening.
Deepu’s visually impaired elder brother Raju lit the pyre. Additional SP, tehsildar, village sarpanch, BJP leaders RS Pathania and Pawan Khajuria among others who paid their last respects.
Earlier, Deepu’s wife Sakshi, said, “On Monday, he worked the entire day at the circus because he had to send money home. In the evening, he called the contractor over phone telling him that he needed ₹8,000. Thereafter, he was resting inside the tent and then went outside to bring food, water and milk. Normally, I used to accompany him but yesterday, I didn’t go as it was raining. While he was out, I heard gunshots, four to five, followed by his cries. I sought help from others and then ran towards the direction of firing. I saw him lying in a pool of blood. When I picked him up, he was breathing. A man came to my help and took him to hospital on his scooty, where Deepu breathed his last.”
Lashkar hand suspected behind killing
Police believe the attack was carried by Lashkar militants. Soon after the killing, Army and Police launched a cordon and search operation in the area to trace the attackers. However, militants managed to escape under the cover of darkness. A senior police officer said that Lashkar could be behind the killing of Deepak Kumar. “We have got some leads and the killers will be identified soon,” he added.
L-G announces ₹5 lakh ex-gratia
Lieutenant governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha has approved an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh for the next of kin of Deepu.
Monday’s targetted killing on a hapless and unarmed circus worker comes just after Kashmir hosted the G20 Summit from May 22 to 24.
In February, terrorists had killed a Kashmiri Pandit in Pulwama. The deceased Sanjay Sharma was working as a guard at a bank’s ATM in his village. He was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
In November last year, two labourers hailing from Kannauj district in Uttar Pradesh were killed by terrorists in Shopian. The terrorists had lobbed a grenade in Harmen, Shopian in which two labourers named Monish Kumar and Ram Sagar were injured. They succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
At Bhattal Morh in Udhampur, angry people had staged a dharna in protest against the targeted killing of Deepu. They demanded that the attackers be eliminated and the family be given adequate compensation. The protestors also shouted anti-Pak slogans. Meanwhile, body of the deceased reached his house around 2 pm. BJP leaders from Udhampur Pawan Khajuria and RS Pathania were the first to reach his house.
