‘We heard gunshots, started to run’: Woman who lost father in Pahalgam attack recalls harrowing moment
N Ramachandran, who was visiting Kashmir with his wife, daughter, and grandkids, lost his life in the Pahalgam attack.
A woman who lost her father in the deadly Pahalgam attack, which claimed at least 26 lives, recalled the horror moment when speaking with the media.
Arathi was with her father when the attack started, which led to the killing of dozens of tourists, including her father - 65-year-old N Ramachandran from Kerala.
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“On hearing a gunshot, I asked my father what that sound was. He said he wasn’t sure. As we heard more gunshots, we started to run. We saw other people also running. It was a chaos overall. Suddenly, we saw a man coming with a gun,” Arathi recalled.
She said, “here were 2-3 groups beside us. We saw the man asking the group something, and then he was shooting at them. At this, I panicked, and I told my father that the man was coming towards us. My father was calm, and he said let’s see what happens. The man came towards us and said 'Kalma'. When we said we didn't understand what he was saying, the man shot my father...Kashmiris are very helpful. Both Central and J&K govt also helped us a lot.”
ANI shared this statement from Arathi, along with her picture:
N Ramachandran was visiting Kashmir with his wife, daughter and grandkids. “His death is a terrible loss to our local community. He was leading a retired life in Kerala for the past couple of years after living around 20 years in the Gulf as an expat. His daughter lived in Dubai and his son worked in Bengaluru," a friend of N Ramachandran said.
One of the deadliest attacks on tourists in recent years, the tragedy claimed the lives of 26 people, all men. It also left many others injured.
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Among those killed was a 26-year-old lieutenant of the Indian Navy, who went to Kashmir with his wife just days after his wedding. Two people from Kolkata, two from Karnataka and a local person also lost their lives in the attack.
