Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met the family of Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, the naval officer who was killed in front of his wife during their honeymoon in Pahalgam.

Rahul visited the family in Karnal with Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan, Karnataka MLC B.K. Hariprasad and other party leaders.

After the meeting, Rahul posted on X: “Their courage and bravery even in the midst of immense grief is a message for the country — we have to remain united. The whole country stands with the families of the martyrs. The Opposition fully supports the government — the culprits should be punished in such a way that no one dares to even look at India.”

Last week, Rahul had met the Kanpur-based kin of Shubham Dwivedi, who was also killed in Pahalgam.

Narwal’s widow Himanshi, who was not at home when Rahul visited, became an icon of national grief after she was photographed sitting beside her husband’s corpse. At a memorial meeting for him on May 1, she spoke out against attacks on Muslims by Right-wing groups using Pahalgam as an excuse. She has faced incessant online trolling since.

Hooda told reporters that the conversation with the bereaved family was private. On the trolling, he said: “Rahulji and our objective is not to make political remarks.”

The National Commission for Women had on Monday issued a cagey condemnation of the trolling. Opposition politicians and civil society have praised Himanshi for her stand after the attack.