Pahalgam terror attack: Terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists near the meadows of Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.
The wife of Shailesh Kalathiya, a Surat resident who was among the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, recounted the horrific moment on Thursday, saying that the terrorists showed no remorse and were even seen laughing after fatally shooting her husband.
Kalathiya was one of three victims from Gujarat killed in the brutal attack in Pahalgam, South Kashmir, on Tuesday, which claimed 26 lives. The other two victims from the state, Yatish Parmar and his son Smit, hailed from Bhavnagar. All three were cremated on Thursday in their respective hometowns, where grief-stricken locals joined the funeral processions to pay their last respects.
‘Hindu men were shot in front of their children’
Shitalben Kalathiya, the wife of deceased Shailesh Kalathiya, was visibly upset when her husband’s mortal remains were being taken to a crematorium from their house. Talking to reporters, she said the terrorists showed no mercy as they were laughing after killing her husband from a very close range.
“A terrorist first came close to us and then shot my husband after learning that he is a Hindu. Just like my husband, other Hindu men were shot in front of their children. The terrorist was laughing after shooting my husband and did not leave the place till he died,” she said.
Shailesh Kalathiya was vacationing in Pahalgam along with his wife Shitalben, son Naksh and elder daughter Niti when the group of terrorists struck Baisaran.
Terrorists divided men in two groups Hindus and Muslims
Kalathiya’s son, Naksh, performed the last rites of his father in Surat. Speaking to reporters afterward, an emotional Naksh revealed that his father was targeted specifically for being a Hindu and was shot dead by one of the terrorists right in front of him and his mother.
“As soon as we heard gunshots, all the tourists started running in search of cover at Pahalgam. Two terrorists eventually found us and asked all of us to identify our religion. They divided men in two groups – Hindus and Muslims. Then, they shot dead all the Hindu men, including my father, and ran away,” Naksh said.
“At the time of the attack, there were nearly 20 to 30 tourists in that area. I feared that I would also be killed. After separating Hindus from Muslims, the terrorists asked them to recite ‘kalma’. Muslims who recited it were spared.
But those who could not recite were gunned down,” he said.
At Bhavnagar, Smit Parmar’s maternal cousin, Sarthak Nathani, recounted the harrowing events of the terror attack. He said that out of the 20 people from Bhavnagar who had travelled to Srinagar, including members of the Parmar and Nathani families, 12 had gone to Pahalgam, where they were ambushed by terrorists.
Nathani described how the attackers, dressed in green outfits resembling Army uniforms and with their faces uncovered, opened fire indiscriminately. “Everyone started running due to indiscriminate firing from all sides. Yatishbhai was shot dead by terrorists. I saw from some distance that a terrorist then asked Smit something and then pumped a bullet from close range,” Nathani said.
(With PTI inputs)
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