New Delhi / 131 West Bengal workers to be brought back from Kashmir: Mamata

Kolkata: After the death of six migrant workers shocked the nation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that the state government is bringing all the labourers working in Kashmir, back to their home state.

A  total of 131 labourers hailing from Murshidabad, Dinajpur and Malda, will be brought back with the help of state government.

Meanwhile, after the bodies of the slain workers arrived at their hometown in Murshidabad on Thursday, the residents have vowed not to send back their men to Kashmir until the situation normalises in the valley.

On Tuesday, six labourers, hailing from West Bengal were shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Mamata Banerjee, who was visibly shocked at the ghastly attack said her government would extend all help to the bereaved families and announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the victim’s family.

She had also asked the Centre to find out ‘the real truth’ and demanded a strong investigation in the matter. Banerjee also said she had tasked a senior Bengal police officer named Sanjay Singh to find out details about the brutal killing.

The attack happened on a day a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union visited Kashmir to talk to locals about their experience after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August.

Since the Centre’s decision on Article 370 and the accompanying clampdown, militants have been targeting non-local fruit traders, truckers and labourers.