Bengaluru, April 22: Pallavi, the tourist who lost her husband Manjunath in the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, shared her harrowing experience on Tuesday. She revealed that both she and her 18-year-old son confronted the terrorist and pleaded to be killed alongside Manjunath.
However, the terrorist reportedly told them that he would not harm them and instead instructed them to inform Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the attack. Speaking to a reputed Kannada media over the phone, Pallavi said, “We are in Pahalgam, and my husband died right in front of me. I couldn’t cry or react — I couldn’t even comprehend what had just happened. I had come here with my husband Manjunath and our son Abhijeya from Karnataka’s Shivamogga.”
“I was accompanied by my car driver, who is a good person. He told me that Hindus were being targeted. Three others, who kept saying ‘Bismillah’, helped us get to safety. I want my husband’s body to be airlifted. All three of us should return together,” she added.
“I noticed that there were three to four attackers. After my husband was killed, I faced one of the terrorists and said, ‘Mere pati ko mara hai na, mujhe bhi maaro’ (You’ve killed my husband, kill me too). My son also confronted him and said, ‘Kutte, mere papa ko maara, humein bhi maar daalo’ (You dog, you killed my father, kill us too),” she recounted.
“The terrorist replied, ‘Nahin marenge. Tum Modi ko jaake bolo’ (I won’t kill you. Go and tell Modi),” Pallavi said. Describing the scene further, she said, “The terrorists were right in front of us. They were not in army uniforms. Almost all the men were targeted. There were many newlywed couples, and in most cases, only the husbands were attacked while women and others were spared. Hindus were targeted. There were around 500 tourists present.”
“We had gone there on horseback. My son had not eaten anything since morning, so my husband went to get him some bread. At first, we heard gunfire and thought the army had fired a shot. Then people started running. I saw my husband had already collapsed and was lying in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the head. I sat beside his body, unable to react,” she added.
“I want to return to my hometown, Shivamogga, but not alone. I will return only with my husband’s body. All three of us must come back together. I request the authorities to make the necessary arrangements,” Pallavi said. The trio had gone on a Kashmir trip on April 19, and they were supposed to return on April 24. Manjunath’s family is shell-shocked in Shivamogga. Manjunath’s mother has not been informed about the death of her son. She had been told that Manjunath is injured and he will return safely soon. Manjunath was a realtor, and his wife Pallavi is a bank manager.
IANS