In a chilling terror attack at the picturesque Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam on Tuesday afternoon, 26 people, mostly tourists, were gunned down and over 20 others injured. Officials are calling it the worst civilian-targeted attack in Kashmir since the Pulwama tragedy in 2019.
Gunmen believed to be affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, opened fire indiscriminately at around 3 p.m. as tourists enjoyed pony rides, picnics, and scenic views at the hilltop location dubbed ‘mini Switzerland’. Eyewitnesses reported scenes of chaos, with bloodied bodies lying across the meadow and terrified families scrambling for cover.
Sources said that 16 out of the 26 deceased have been identified so far. The victims hail from different parts of India and abroad:
Among the deceased, Manju Nath Shivamu and Shivam Mogga were from Karnataka. Vinay Narwal, aged 26, son of Rajesh Narwal, hailed from Haryana. Shubham Dwivedi, son of Sanjay, belonged to Uttar Pradesh. Dilip Jayaram Desale and Atul Shrikant Mone (sons of Shriam Achal) were from Maharashtra. Sundip Nevpane and Bitan Adhkeri were of Nepali origin.
Udhwani Rradeep Kumar was from the UAE. Sanjay Lakhan Lele’s location, Syed Hussan Shah, son of Syed Hyder, was from Anantnag, Jammu Kashmir. Himat Bhai Kalathiy was from Surat in Gujarat. Prasant Kumar Baleshwar, Manish Ranjan, Ramchandram sons of Narayan Menon, and Shalinder Kalpiya.
Among the injured, Vini Bhai, 60 years old, son of Ruwani Bhai, was from Gujarat and admitted to GMC Anantnag. Manik Patil and Rino Pandey’s locations were not specified. S. Balachandru was from Maharashtra. Dr Parmeshwaram, son of Arumugam, was from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and was also admitted to GMC Anantnag. Abhijavam Rao was from Karnataka. Santru, aged 83, was from Tamil Nadu and also admitted to GMC Anantnag. Shashi Kumari, 65, wife of Ranjit Kumar, was from Odisha and admitted to GMC Anantnag. Balachandra, 57 years old, son of Sankara Pandya, was from Tamil Nadu and suffered from heart stress. Lastly, Sobhit Patel was from Mumbai and admitted to BB Cantt, Srinagar.
Authorities suspect the attackers infiltrated from Kishtwar and reached Baisaran through south Kashmir’s Kokernag region. While the number of assailants is yet to be officially confirmed, eyewitnesses say there may have been at least five.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi — currently in Saudi Arabia — has flown to Srinagar to chair an emergency security meeting.
PM Modi condemned the attack on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice… Their evil agenda will never succeed.”
As security agencies intensify their manhunt and the region is placed on high alert, the country mourns the tragic loss of innocent lives in what should have been a moment of leisure in the serene hills of Kashmir.
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
