Bhubaneswar: A family from Cuttack has a narrow escape as terrorist went berserk, killing tourists by identifying them as Hindu, on April 22 in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in what is being described as the deadliest strike on civilians in the Valley in the last two decades.
Ranjit Bhoi was vacationing with his wife, along with their son and daughter-in-law celebrating the beauty of the valley when they heard the gunshots.
Recounting the terror and chaos, Sashi Kumari Nayak told a local channel that the terrorists were standing next to them. “We saw three people getting shot in front of us. Had they turned to where we were hiding, we too would have not survived the onslaught. After the terrorist hit a tourist on his chest, a woman asked him to kill her also. I could clearly hear the terrorist asking her to call PM Modi. This horrific incident will remain etched in my mind forever,” she said.
Sashi slipped and fractured her right hand and leg as they then ran for their lives. “I was rescued by BSF jawans and rushed to hospital,” she said.
She added that BSF jawans should be deployed at the spot to ensure security and safety of the tourists.
Bhoi said that they were clicking pictures and making videos where they heard the blank firing. “My son Sandeep asked us to hide under the racks there. The four terrorists first fired on the security guard. One among them inched towards us and was about 5 feet away. One of the tourists, who could recite ‘kalam’, survived the attack, while three others were shot dead in cold blood. I counted 14 bodies as we hurriedly left the spot,” he said.
The family later reached Srinagar and left for home.
Sandeep said that he had literally forced his family to take the trip to Jammu and Kashmir. “I am a Hanuman bhakt but tried to recite ‘Kalam’ to myself while hiding fearing danger as the terrorists segregated and targeted young men. We went through a lot of mental trauma and therefore, I will never ask anyone to visit the Valley,” he added.
Similarly, a group of tourists from Odisha’s Puri were just 200 metres away from the site where the terror attack took place at the scenic Baisaran meadows. “Initially, we assumed that there was some kind of celebration for which firecrackers were being burst. “When we heard screams, we got scared and realised that something was wrong. My elder brother advised us to leave the place as soon as possible. We could see people running for their lives,” he said.
They rode down on ponies and soon reached the hotel, which was about 3 km away.
On the other hand, the decision to cut short their stay in Kashmir saved a local businessman and his family from Berhampur. Hari Narayan Mishra (50), along with his wife Mandakini and their two daughters, was on a 15-day family vacation and left the Valley a day before the terror attack. They reached Berhampur safely on Thursday.
They went to popular tourist destinations such as Gulmarg and Baisaran on April 21. They had planned to spend two more days at Baisaran. However, heavy rains and landslides made them uncomfortable and they departed from Srinagar earlier than scheduled. “It’s nothing short of a miracle that we’re alive,” said a family member.
Odisha saw one casualty in the terror attack. It was 41-year-old Prashant Satpathy, a native of Balasore district. The employee of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology had gone to Pahalgam with his wife and son on vacation.
