News Reader.info

Additionally, Jyoti Zarunge, who was part of a tourist group of around 68 people from Pune, told _Newslaundry _how they escaped the attack on Tuesday.  “We had arrived in Kashmir on April 18

and had already visited places like Gulmarg and Srinagar. On Tuesday, we were scheduled to travel to Pahalgam. My sister-in-law, Rohini Gaikwad, was in a different vehicle and had reached

before us. Just about 200 metres before the site of the attack, they heard gunshots, and people started running in panic. Their driver quickly responded and drove them to safety at a nearby

hotel, where they stayed for three to four hours. Later, the Army escorted them back safely to Srinagar.” _Newslaundry _spoke to Naveen Patel, a tourist hailing from Chhindwara in Madhya

Pradesh, who also escaped the attack. “I arrived in Kashmir three days before the incident, along with three friends from Chhindwara and Nagpur. We were on horses, heading toward the ‘Mini

Switzerland’ tourist site to have some _bhel,_ when the firing began. At first, I thought someone was bursting firecrackers. But about 20 seconds later, the firing turned indiscriminate. I

quickly hid behind a tree and, by sheer luck, managed to escape. Later, Army and BSF personnel arrived and escorted us to a safe location.” Manish Ranjan, a Section Officer with the

Intelligence Bureau, was also among those killed in the attack. He was posted in Hyderabad and had been on vacation in Kashmir with his wife and children. Dilip Desale from Mumbai was also

killed in the attack.  Also killed was Sudip Neupane, a 27-year-old from Butwal, Nepal. He was the nephew of Dhadhiraj Neupane, the chairman of the sub-metropolitan Butwal ward. Dhadhiraj,

while speaking to a _Nepali news outlet_, said that Sudip was walking on a road near Baisaran when the gunmen asked him which religious group he belonged to and then opened fire on him. 

Among the 17 injured tourists was Vinay Bhai, a resident of Gujarat, who is now admitted to an army hospital in Srinagar. Vinay’s niece, Khushi Rathore, told _Newslaundry _over the phone

that she, with her family of 20, had come from Bhavnagar in Gujarat to Srinagar on March 17 to attend the Morari Bapu ki Ramkatha. The family spent four days in Srinagar. On 22 April, when

they saw good weather, they decided to go to Pahalgam for sightseeing.   “It was 2 pm. We had just reached the Baisaran Valley, and I was clicking pictures of my family members. Within five

minutes, two tall men wearing jackets over their kurta and their faces uncovered emerged from the bushes behind me and started firing,” she said.  Rathore and her family members hid under

the benches.  “Initially, I thought they were army officers. But when they hit two civilians in front of me, I realised they were terrorists. _Wo direct goli charala rahe the. Kuch dekh nhi

rahe the _(They were shooting indiscriminately)_._ Those who hid themselves were saved, but the ones who were running around were shot,” she said. Within a couple of minutes, Rathore and her

family members rushed to the entry gate of the valley and returned to their hotel in Srinagar via car.  Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a 28-year-old resident of Hapatnar in Jammu and Kashmir, who

worked as a ponywalla for tourists, was killed in the attack at Baisaran Valley. His maternal uncle, Naseer Ahmad, told _Newslaundry_, “He left home at 7 in the morning with his two horses

to take tourists to Pahalgam, but he never returned. He was killed in the terrorist attack while he was at Baisaran Valley. When we lost contact with him, his father went to the Aishmuqam

police station and submitted a complaint. It was only around 10 at night that we received confirmation of his death.” Ahmad said survivors present at the attack site told the police that

Shah had confronted the terrorists and asked them why they were killing innocent people, after which three bullets were pumped into him. Shah is survived by his wife, parents, and three

sisters.