NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Three judges of the Kerala High Court, who were on a tour of Jammu and Kashmir along with their family members, had providential escape from the terror attack in Pahalgam that shook the nation on Tuesday.
The judges, Anil K. Narendran, G. Girish and P. G. Ajithkumar and their families were on a vacation to Jammu and Kashmir. The eight-member team, which had arrived in the union territory on April 17 had reached Pahalgam on Monday.
After visiting a few landmark tourist places, the team stayed put in Pahalgam for the day. They left the place on Tuesday morning at 9.30 a.m., just hours before the attack that left at least 27 people dead, to reach Srinagar by noon.
“The weather was pleasant and we covered most of the spots of tourist attractions, including a few temples, on Monday itself. The driver of the vehicle, who took us around, had offered to take us to more tourist spots in the area. However, I insisted on returning to Srinagar today itself to take a boat ride in Dal Lake as I had visited the area earlier, and we reached Srinagar safely,” Justice Narendran said.
“We met a person at the hotel in Srinagar who narrowly escaped the terrorist attack. He was all shaken by the attack,” he recollected. “The terror strike reportedly took place at around noon, and by that time, we were back to safety in Srinagar. We reached Srinagar at around 2 p.m. We will leave for Kerala shortly,” said Justice Ajithkumar.
The news that the judges were in Jammu and Kashmir at the time of the terror attack had caused worries among the legal circles. However, friends and well-wishers were relieved after the news of the judges and their families to be safe reached them.
(Manas Dasgupta)
