Pahalgam terror attack: Survivor reveals how chanting ‘Kalima’ saved his life

A professor at Assam University, who survived the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, said the gunman spared his life because he recited the “Kalima".

Debasish Bhattacharyya, the professor in the Department of Bengali at Assam University, was among the tourists who were attacked by terrorists from The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). At least 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed and many were injured in the attack, which triggered nationwide outrage.

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Bhattacharyya recollected the exact moments when the terrorist spared him and his family members' lives while speaking to News18 Assam about the attack.

The professor said he started reciting the “Kalima” instinctively after hearing murmurs from people sleeping under a tree alongside him. “Instinctively, I too began to recite it. Moments later, one of the terrorists, dressed in camouflage fatigues, walked towards us and shot the person lying next to me in the head,” Bhattacharyya told News18 Assam.

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Recollecting his terrifying moments, he added, “He looked straight at me and asked, ‘Kya kar rahe ho?’ I recited the Kalima even louder. I don’t know what made me do it. For some reason, he turned away and walked off.”

Bhattacharyya said he fled the spot by trekking for almost two hours by following the hoof marks of horses on the path. The family then hired a horse rider and reached the hotel, the report said.

“I still can’t believe I am alive,” he added.

Assam govt makes arrangements

The Chief Minister's Office said on Wednesday that the government is making all arrangements to bring back a survivor's family from Jammu and Kashmir.

“The CM Office Assam has spoken to a survivor from Assam of the dastardly Pahalgam Terror Attack and has taken a full brief of the incident which they faced yesterday,” the statement said.

Also read | Rajnath Singh meets NSA, 3 defence chiefs as Pahalgam attack prompts security huddle

“The entire family's return to the State is being arranged on priority, and the Government of Assam is in touch with the Government of India to bring the family back to Assam at the earliest,” it added, without mentioning details about the family.

Himanta Biswa Sarma had condemned the attack and said the images of coffins are heartbreaking and have shaken the nation's conscience. “This nefarious attack will be avenged and the perpetrators will not be spared... India will never forget and never forgive!” he wrote on X.