Asavari, 26, a human resource professional in Pune, said the family was on a vacation at the idyllic spot when they heard firing from ‘people who wore clothes similar to those of local police’ descending from the nearby hill
PTI, 23.04.25 : The family was cowering in fear inside a tent when the militants came. They asked Santosh Jagdale, 54, to come out and recite an Islamic verse. When he couldn’t, they shot him thrice — once in the head, then behind the ear and then his back.
The 26-year-old daughter of the Pune businessman recounted to PTI the terror the family went through during the horrific attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
After her father fell to the ground, the gunmen turned on her uncle, who was lying next to her and shot him several times in the back.
“We were a group of five people, including my parents. We were in Baisaran Valley above Pahalgam and were at a spot referred to as Mini Switzerland when the firing began,” Asavari Jagdale told PTI over the phone five hours after the shooting.
Asavari does not know if her father and uncle are alive. Asavari, her mother and another female relative were spared, and locals and security forces evacuated them to Pahalgam Club.
Asavari, 26, a human resource professional in Pune, said the family was on a vacation at the idyllic spot when they heard firing from “people who wore clothes similar to those of local police” descending from the nearby hill.
“We immediately rushed to a nearby tent for protection. So did six to seven others (tourists). We all lay on the ground as protection against the firing, which we then assumed was between the terrorists and security personnel,” Asavari said.
She said the group of militants first came to a nearby tent and opened fire.
“Then they came to our tent and asked my father to come out,” she said.
“They said ‘Chaudhari tu bahar aa ja’,” Asavari said.
The militants blamed them for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that the allegation that Kashmiri militants killed innocent people was false, she said.
“They then asked my father to recite an Islamic verse. When he failed to do so, they pumped three bullets into him, one on the head, one behind the ear and another in the back,” Asavari said.
“My uncle was next to me. The terrorists fired four to five bullets at him. They shot several other men who were at the spot. There was nobody to help. No police or army, who reached 20 minutes later. Even the locals there were reciting the Islamic verse,” she added.
She said the people who took them to the spot on ponies helped three women — including Asavari and her mother — make the return journey. Later, they underwent medical examination to check for injuries and were shifted to Pahalgam Club.
“The firing happened around 3.30pm. It has been five hours and there has been no update on my father’s and uncle’s medical condition,” Asavari said.
RELATED TOPICS
