Mamata Hands Over Cheques to Pahalgam Attack Martyrs’ Kins

MP | 22 July 2025 | Kolkata: During the Trinamool Congress’s annual Martyrs’ Day rally on Monday, the party’s chairperson Mamata Banerjee honoured the families of those who lost their lives in recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and Udhampur.

On April 22, terrorists opened fire on a group of Hindu tourists at Pahalgam’s Baisaran area, killing several, including Kolkata resident Bitan Adhikari. Following the attack, security forces launched a massive combing operation across the Valley. During one such operation in Udhampur, Special Forces commando Jhantu Ali Sheikh from Tehatta in Nadia district was killed in militant firing.

Mamata Banerjee invited both families to the July 21 rally stage at Esplanade and presented each with a cheque of ₹1 lakh as a mark of respect. She personally escorted Jhantu Ali Sheikh’s father, Sabur Ali Sheikh, to the dais and draped an uttariya around him. Banerjee had earlier visited the slain commando’s family in Murshidabad and announced a government job for the martyr’s widow.

Bitan Adhikari’s parents were also honoured in a similar manner, with Banerjee offering condolences and a cheque of ₹1 lakh. She had earlier spoken to the grieving family over the phone after the Pahalgam incident.

Banerjee said Trinamool workers across Bengal contributed ₹1 each to raise the fund for both families.

Remembering the 13 people who died in the 1993 police firing during a protest at the same venue, Banerjee said, “For 33 years, we have observed this day as Martyrs’ Day and Democracy Day. Had the July 21 movement not happened, people wouldn’t have their voting rights.”

The TMC later shared a post on social media expressing solidarity with the grieving families.