Terrorists ensured male victims were not Muslims before shooting: Pahalgam attack survivor
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In a chilling terror attack that targeted tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, terrorists asked male victims to identify their religion and shot those who could not recite Islamic verses, according to a survivor who lost her father and uncle in the violence.
The attack, which occurred at the popular tourist spot of Betaab Valley, left at least 26 people dead, most of them tourists, and injured several others.
Asavari Jagdale, a 26-year-old human resource professional from Pune, said that her father, Santosh Jagdale, and uncle, Kaustubh Ganbote, were singled out and shot after failing to confirm they were Muslims.
“There were several tourists around, but the terrorists specifically targeted male tourists after asking whether they were Hindu or Muslim,” she said. Asavari, her mother Pragati, and another female relative survived the attack, which she described as “dastardly and targeted.”
The family was part of a five-member group that had travelled to Pahalgam and was visiting a location known as ‘mini Switzerland’ when the attack unfolded. “We immediately rushed to a nearby tent for protection. So did six to seven others. We all lay down on the ground as protection against the firing, which we then assumed was between the terrorists and security personnel,” Asavari said.
She said the terrorists, dressed similarly to local police, descended from a nearby hill and first opened fire on a nearby tent before approaching theirs. “They came to our tent and asked my father to come out. They said ‘Chaudhari tu bahar aa ja’,” she recalled. According to Asavari, the attackers accused them of supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and made statements denying that Kashmiri militants harm innocents.
“They then asked my father to recite an Islamic verse (probably the Kalma). 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,” she said. Her uncle was also shot multiple times. “My uncle was next to me. The terrorists fired four to five bullets into him. They shot several other males who were at the spot,” she added.
Locals and pony handlers later helped the three surviving women return to safety. “The people who took us to the spot on ponies helped us make the return journey,” Asavari said, adding that they were eventually evacuated by security forces to Pahalgam Club after undergoing medical examination.