Pahalgam terror attack leaves 26 dead; authorities identify deceased

Authorities are working to identify the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, regarded as one of the deadliest incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019

The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday has claimed at least 26 lives so far and several injured. This includes mostly Indian tourists, two locals, and two foreign nationals from Nepal and the United Arab Emirates. The attack is among the deadliest since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

 

As authorities work to identify the victims, details of those confirmed deceased are beginning to emerge. Here is what we know so far.

 

Uttar Pradesh

Shubham Dwivedi, a newlywed from Kanpur, was killed in the attack while vacationing with his wife. “Shubham bhaiya got married on February 12 this year. My sister-in-law called my uncle and told him that Shubham was shot in the head,” his cousin Saurabh Dwivedi told ANI. “It is also being said that the firing started after asking for the names of the individuals.”

 

Haryana

Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, 26, a young Indian Navy officer from Karnal, had recently married on April 16 and was on leave when he was caught in the gunfire. “Vinay was married four days ago. Everyone was happy. We have received the information that he was killed by terrorists and died on the spot. He was an officer in the Navy,” Naresh Bansal, a neighbour, told ANI.

 

 

Maharashtra

Dilip Desale, resident of Panvel.

Santosh Jagdale, resident of Pune.

Kaustubh Ganbote, resident of Pune.

Atul Mone, resident of Kalyan-Dombivli.

Hemant Joshi, resident of Kalyan-Dombivli.

Sanjay Lele, resident of Kalyan-Dombivli.

 

Supervisor District Emergency Officer Mushtaq Ahmed confirmed these deaths, according to a report by The Times of India.  ALSO READ | PM Modi meets NSA Doval, Jaishankar following Pahalgam terror attack

 

Condemning the violence, BJP MLA Prashant Thakur said, “The tragic and horrific attack in Jammu and Kashmir should be strongly condemned... Dilip Desale, a resident of New Panvel, has died in the firing.”

 

Odisha

Prashant Satpathy, an accounts officer, was travelling with his wife and young son when he was killed.

 

Gujarat

Shailesh Bhai Himmat Bhai Kadatiya, 44, from Surat, was visiting with his wife and two children. 

Yatish Parmar and his son Sumit Parmar from Bhavnagar were among those killed in the recent terror attack.

 

"Three people from Gujarat – two from Bhavnagar and one from Surat – lost their lives in the attack, while two others were injured. The victim from Surat was living in Mumbai. We are in constant contact with the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government to bring back the bodies. Efforts are also underway to bring back the other tourists who survived," said Health Minister Rushikesh Patel.

West Bengal

Bitan Adhikary, 40, was an IT professional from Kolkata, based in the United States. Adhikary was on vacation with his wife, Sohini and three-year-old son. They arrived at Pahalgam just hours before the attack.  ALSO READ | 'They asked our names, then opened fire': Survivors recount Pahalgam attack

 

Karnataka

Manju Nath, an intelligence bureau officer, was killed in the attack. Speaking to ANI, his uncle Madhav Murthy said, “Manjunath is a relative. His son got 98 per cent marks in the second PU exams. That’s why he took his family to Jammu and Kashmir... They went on a package tour around eight days ago. When they were eating panipuri, terrorists attacked them... It’s not good to lose anybody in any such attacks.”

 

 

Twelve more people have been identified, according to a flight schedule of the deceased seen by Business Standard: 

N Ramachanderan  

 

Dinesh Aggarwal  

 

Neeraj Udhwani  

 

J S Chandra Mouli 

 

Sameer Guha  

 

Sushil Nathyal  

 

Tage Halving  

 

Madhusudan Rao  

 

Bharat Bhushan  

 

Manish Ranjan  

 

Sudeep Noepani

 

PM Modi, Sitharaman return to India amid attacks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on an official tour in the United States and Peru, cut short their trips in response to the crisis.  

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has issued helpline numbers:

Emergency Control Room – Srinagar: 0194-2457543, 0194-2483651

Adil Fareed, ADC Srinagar – 7006058623.  Security has been strengthened across the Kashmir Valley, particularly at key tourist locations.