Truck drivers, camping in Kashmir valley to ferry apple boxes outside the State, are living in constant fear after the terrorists carried out  second ‘surprise’ attack on two apple traders hailing from Punjab late Wednesday night in Shopian district. 

One of the apple trader identified as Charanjeet Singh succumbed to his fatal injuries while another, identified as Sanjay  Churaya, is undergoing treatment in Srinagar. Both hailed from Fazilka in Punjab.

Before this, a truck driver from Rajasthan was also killed in cold blood by terrorists in Shopian on Monday evening. Later, his truck was also set on fire to spread terror in the area.

After these attacks, fresh wave of terror has gripped the area. The main markets, where apple growers were bringing their crop from different orchards in the region, wore a deserted look on Thursday.

To instil confidence among the  truck drivers, stranded in the vulnerable pockets, the local police authorities beefed up security deployment by way of area domination. Posters of terrorists, believed to be behind the targeted killing of apple traders was also pasted at different places so that they can be tracked down and neutralised.

Meanwhile, interacting with local media in Shopian several truck drivers raised the issue of their safety.

Without identifying themselves in front of media, the truck drivers said,  “we are worried for our own safety.  “we are here to ferry apple boxes and earn our livelihood”. “We really don’t know why are these terrorists targeting us. We are sole bread earners of our families and they are dependent on us”, truck drivers  told local reporters. 

In the recent weeks, more than 30,000 trucks have ferried large quantities of apple crop outside the state. Commenting on the targeting killing of apple traders and truck drivers, Governor Satya Pal Malik Thursday said, terrorists are targeting apple traders and truck drivers to spread terror. He said, “we are after them and we will finish them”.