Deadly Kulgam Terror Strike Devastates Families of Migrant Laborers from Chhattisgarh
The killing of two laborers in South Kashmir has shattered the lives of their dependents in Chhattisgarh. Victims Deepak Ratre and Bhupendra Baina were the primary earners for their households.
Key takeaways
- Deepak Ratre and Bhupendra Baina were killed by terrorists in the Kelam area of Kulgam district on Friday evening.
- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced an ex gratia payment of ₹20 lakh for each victim's family.
- The victims were the sole breadwinners for their families, supporting elderly parents, disabled siblings, and young children.
- The Chhattisgarh government sent a senior officer to Jammu and Kashmir to coordinate funeral rites and administrative support.
- Both laborers had migrated from Chhattisgarh to the Kashmir valley specifically to work in brick kilns and improve their financial status.
Violence in Kelam Claims Young Lives
A Friday evening terror attack in the Kelam area of Kulgam district, South Kashmir, resulted in the deaths of two migrant workers from Chhattisgarh. The victims, 24-year-old Deepak Ratre and 28-year-old Bhupendra Baina, had traveled to the region seeking the higher wages offered by local brick kilns. This incident has left their respective families without financial support and facing an uncertain future.
Economic Migration Ends in Tragedy
For Deepak Ratre, a native of Bundeli who later moved to Hardidih in Sakti district, working in Jammu and Kashmir represented a path out of generational poverty. Having lost his father at age four, Ratre was the primary provider for his elderly mother, a disabled younger brother, his wife, and a four-month-old son. His maternal uncle, Dilharan Sande, noted that Ratre had hoped his earnings would finally allow the family to construct a permanent home.
Bhupendra Baina of Chhuiya village in the Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district shared a similar burden. He and his wife had traveled for work, leaving their four-year-old son in the care of a sister and grandmother. Baina’s parents and brother were also working as laborers in Himachal Pradesh at the time of the attack, illustrating the widespread geographic dispersion of the family to secure income.
State Response and Local Mourning
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai condemned the killings as an assault on national unity and announced a ₹20 lakh ex gratia payment for each family. Despite requests from villagers to have the remains returned to their native soil, the Chhattisgarh government coordinated with Jammu and Kashmir authorities to conduct the final rites in the union territory. Key points of the government intervention include:
- Deputing a senior officer to Jammu and Kashmir to oversee administrative coordination.
- Ensuring last rites followed religious customs and maintained the dignity of the deceased.
- Facilitating communication between the bereaved families and local administration.
The villages of Hardidih and Chhuia remain in mourning as they grapple with the loss of two young men who left their homes in search of a better life.
Source: The Hindu — National
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