Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Friday announced a special ex-gratia of Rs  30 lakh in favour of the next of kins (NoKs) of Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, Junior Agriculture Extension Officer who was killed by the militants while performing his duties during the Back to Village-2 (B2V2) programme in village Hakura, Anantnag on Tuesday.

 The Government employee identified as Sheikh Zahoor Ahmad and Sarpanch of village Hakura, had sustained fatal injuries  after terrorists had lobbed a grenade and fired indiscriminately to terrorise local villagers who participated in the back to village programme organised by the Rural Development department. Two other Government employees had also sustained injuries in the attack.

Paying rich tributes, Lt. Governor observed that these inhuman and dastardly acts are not going to deter the Government in its resolve to reach out to the people and usher a new era of participatory development.       

“We condemn the barbaric act. We pay our rich tributes to the departed souls, who laid down their lives in the call of duty during a special welfare programme of the government under the Mission of Delivering Governance and Development at doorsteps. The noble souls will be in our prayers and thoughts. We express our deepest sympathies with the bereaved families and pray for their courage and fortitude to bear the loss”, the Lt. Governor said. 

Meanwhile, the Lt. Governor has directed the Rural Development Department to speedily process the compensation case of the NoKs of the Late Sarpanch, Syed Mohammad Rafi.

The Lt. Governor has further directed the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to ensure that the two injured employees receive the best medical treatment.