Vehicles carrying the body of tourist Shailesh Kalathia killed in Pahalgam.
Ahmedabad: 26 people, including Shailesh Kalathia, a resident of Surat, Gujarat, lost their lives in a terrorist attack on Tuesday in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Two other residents of Gujarat, Yatish Parmar of Bhavnagar and his son Smit Parmar were also killed in this attack. On Thursday, the three dead were cremated at their ancestral places, where the locals attended the mourning. Shailesh Kalathia’s wife Sheetalben said that the terrorists were laughing after shooting her husband.
‘Hindu men were shot in front of their children’
Sheetalben said, ‘A terrorist first came close to us and then after knowing that he is a Hindu, she shot my husband. Like my husband, other Hindu men were also shot in front of their children. After shooting my husband, the terrorist was laughing and did not go from there until he died. Shailesh’s son Naksh cremated his father in Surat. Naksh said, ‘As soon as we heard the sound of bullets, all the tourists started running to hide in Pahalgam. Eventually 2 terrorists caught us and asked us all to tell our religion.
‘Terrorists divided people into Hindus and Muslims’
Naksh further said, ‘Terrorists divided people into two groups Hindus and Muslims. Then, he shot and killed all Hindu men, including my father and fled. At the time of the attack, there were about 20 to 30 tourists in that area. I was afraid that I would also be killed. After separating Hindus from Muslims, the terrorists asked them to read ‘Kalma’. Muslims who read it were released. But those who could not read, were killed. Shailesh was holidaying in Pahalgam with his wife Sheetalbane, son Map and daughter policy, when the terrorists attacked in Basaron area.
‘Terrorist asked Smit something and shot’
Smithak Naithani, uncle of Smit Parmar in Bhavnagar, said that the terrorists involved in the attack wore green clothes like army uniforms and their faces were not covered. Naithani said, ‘Everyone started running away due to indiscriminate firing from all sides. Yatishbhai was shot by terrorists. I saw from some distance that a terrorist asked Smit something and then shot him closely. Please tell that this attack took place on a group of 20 people who went from Bhavnagar to Srinagar, out of which 12 people went to Pahalgam. The Pahalgam attack has shocked the entire country and the government has said to give a strong reply to the terrorists and its masters.
