At first, Pallavi Rao thought they were gunshots from a mock drill by the army. Within seconds, her husband was on the ground in a pool of blood. By the time Pallavi realised it was a terror attack, it was too late.
Manjunath Rao, a 47-year-old realtor from Shivamogga in Karnataka, was among the tourists who were gunned down by militants in Pahalgam on Tuesday. Another Karnataka resident holidaying in Kashmir, Bharat Bhushan from Bengaluru, was also among the dead.
Rao, his wife Pallavi and their young son Abhijey had travelled to Kashmir on April 19 for a holiday.
Pallavi recalled the terrifying moments before the media. After an exhausting pony ride to the popular tourist spot, the family had stopped for snacks when the first gunshots rang out.
“Suddenly, we heard gunshots, but I thought it must be a routine firing drill by the army. But then a bullet hit my husband. My son and I ran into the snack stall. It was a terrorist attack,” Pallavi said, adding that some of the militants grabbed her by her hand and told her to “go tell Modi” what they had done.
Later, some locals took Pallavi and her son to a safer location. She appealed to the authorities to expedite the process of airlifting Rao’s body to Shivamogga.
The attack took place around 3pm when a group of terrorists descended from the Baisaran Meadow, a popular tourist destination in the Anantnag district of south Kashmir.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah condemned the attack. “Kannadigas are among the victims of this shocking incident. Upon receiving the news, I convened an emergency meeting and reviewed the situation with the chief secretary and senior police officers. I’ve also spoken to the resident commissioner in New Delhi. We are closely monitoring the developments. All necessary support will be extended. Please be assured, the government of Karnataka stands firmly with those affected,” he wrote on X.
The Karnataka government has sent three teams to Kashmir to coordinate the rescue and transportation of the stranded tourists as well as to expedite the airlifting of the two killed in the attack.
Suman Bhat, a member of a group of 17 Timex spare-parts dealers from Karnataka who were also visiting Kashmir, too, shared their harrowing experience. Although they were part of a different tourist group than Rao’s, they had booked through the same travel agency, and their families were in touch.
Speaking from Srinagar, Bhat said: “We were late. If we had arrived on time, we might have been caught in the attack like Manjunath. We were riding ponies about an hour
away from where the attack happened when we received calls from the tour operator about the shooting in Pahalgam. The locals in our area also warned us that it wasn’t safe, so we quickly returned to Srinagar and saw the tragic news on TV. We have a flight to Bengaluru tomorrow.”