A move to Jammu and Kashmir from his village in central Chhattisgarh meant more than sustenance for 24-year-old Deepak Ratre, the sole breadwinner of a family of five that includes a disabled younger brother, an elderly mother, wife, and a four-month-old infant son.

“Migration meant hope. With the improved earnings he could build a house in his village. He thought he would save up enough for that shelter he wanted since losing his father at the age of four. But that wasn’t to be,” says Deepak’s maternal uncle Dilharan Sande. Deepak was among the two labourers from Chhattisgarh gunned down by terrorists in Kelam area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district late on Friday evening. The other deceased was 28-year-old Bhupendra Baina from Chhuiya village of Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district.

While Deepak was born in his native village of Bundeli in Sakti district, his father’s untimely death led the family to move to his mother’s maternal village, Hardidih in Sakti. “There weren’t enough opportunities here, so he along with his family moved to Jammu last year and worked there in a brick kiln. Earlier this year, he went to Kashmir valley. Now, the devastating news of his death has come, the whole village is in mourning,” Mr. Sande told The Hindu over the phone from Hardidih.

In Chhuia village, Bhupendra’s younger sister Annu often breaks down as she tells presspersons that the only son of the deceased will never be able to see his father again. She said Bhupendra and his wife had left their four-year-old child in the care of the man’s grandmother and her. Their parents and brother are away working as labourers in Himachal Pradesh.

People in both the villages expressed disappointment that Bhupendra and Deepak were not cremated at their native places.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday announced an ex gratia assistance of ₹20 lakh for each of the families of the Chhattisgarh workers killed in the “cowardly terrorist attack in Kulgam”. Mr. Sai described the attack as an assault on humanity and the unity of the nation.

“The Chief Minister has directed the Chhattisgarh Government to depute a senior officer to Jammu & Kashmir immediately. The officer will coordinate with the bereaved families and the local administration to ensure that the last rites of the deceased are conducted in Jammu & Kashmir with full dignity and in accordance with all religious customs and protocols,” said a government official.