Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 23: A harrowing video, recorded from a distance, has surfaced, capturing the chilling moments of the brutal killing of tourists that unfolded on Tuesday afternoon in the picturesque meadows of Baisaran, near the resort town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
The footage shows bodies strewn across the grass, bursts of gunfire echoing in the backdrop. The attack, which began around 3 PM on Tuesday, claimed the lives of twenty-six individuals, including an officer of the Indian Navy and an Intelligence Bureau personnel and two foreign nationals, one each from the UAE and Nepal.
Baisaran, colloquially known as “mini Switzerland” due to its scenic landscape and panoramic vistas, is located approximately six kilometres uphill from Pahalgam. A magnet for domestic and international tourists during the spring and summer months, the area is often buzzing with activity.
Another video, now viral, shows the picturesque meadow of Pahalgam, a woman on a zipline, children playing on the grass, with laughter all around. Then the sound of a single gunshot shocks the crowd before chaos unfolds.
What began as an ordinary afternoon of leisure was shattered by the sudden crackle of automatic gunfire. Survivors described a terrifying sequence of events. According to multiple eyewitness accounts, the attackers interrogated their victims, asking names, before opening fire.
“They asked my father to recite an Islamic verse. When he failed to do so, they pumped three bullets into him, one on the head, one behind the ear and another in the back,” said Asavari Jagdale from Pune, Maharashtra, whose father was killed in the attack.
Pallavi, the tourist who lost her husband Manjunath, shared her harrowing experience. She revealed that both she and her 18-year-old son confronted the terrorists and pleaded to be killed alongside Manjunath. But the terrorists told them that he would not harm them so that they can go and tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi how the tourists have been killed. Pallavi said, “We are in Pahalgam, and my husband died right in front of me. I couldn’t cry or react — I couldn’t even comprehend what had just happened. I had come here with my husband Manjunath and our son Abhijeya from Karnataka’s Shivamogga.”
“I was accompanied by my car driver, who is a good person. He told me that Hindus were being targeted. Three others, who kept saying ‘Bismillah’, helped us get to safety.
“I noticed that there were three to four attackers. After my husband was killed, I faced one of the terrorists and said, ‘Mere pati ko mara hai na, mujhe bhi maaro’ (You’ve killed my husband, kill me too). My son also confronted him and said, ‘Kutte, mere papa ko maara, humein bhi maar daalo’ (You dog, you killed my father, kill us too),” she recounted. “The terrorist replied, ‘Nahin marenge. Tum Modi ko jaake bolo’ (I won’t kill you. Go and tell Modi),” Pallavi said.
Describing the scene further, she said, “The terrorists were right in front of us. They were not in army uniforms. Almost all the men were targeted. There were many newlywed couples, and in most cases, only the husbands were attacked while women and others were spared. Hindus were targeted. There were around 500 tourists present.”
In the immediate aftermath, security forces, including the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Jammu and Kashmir Police, sealed off the area and launched a large-scale manhunt. Due to the difficult terrain, helicopters were deployed to evacuate the injured, while locals assisted by ferrying casualties on ponies down to Pahalgam.
By Tuesday evening, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had activated emergency control rooms in Anantnag and Srinagar. Airlines, including Air India and IndiGo, responded by increasing flight frequency to Srinagar and waiving rescheduling and cancellation charges. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu urged carriers to refrain from exploiting the situation with surge pricing.
The attack prompted Mr Modi to cut short his diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia, returning to New Delhi late on Tuesday night. Upon landing, the Prime Minister convened an emergency meeting at the airport itself with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar shortly afterwards. On Wednesday morning, he visited the Police Control Room (PCR) where the bodies had been brought from the Government Medical College (GMC) in Srinagar. Mr Shah laid wreaths and met with families of the victims. Later in the day, he travelled to Pahalgam for a ground-level security assessment.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was on an official visit to the United States, also cut short her trip. Ms Sitharaman is a member of the five-member Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by the Prime Minister.
