In a heart-wrenching account from the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Asavari Jagdale, 26, recounted how terrorists brutally murdered her father, Santosh Jagdale, 54, in front of her. The Pune businessman, along with his family, was enjoying a vacation at the scenic Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam when terrorists opened fire on tourists. Asavari, speaking in a telephonic interview to PTI, described how the terrorists forced her father to recite an Islamic verse before shooting him thrice—once in the head, again behind the ear, and finally in the back.
The family, terrified and huddling inside a tent for cover, watched as the assailants turned on her uncle, who was lying beside her, and shot him multiple times in the back. The attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists, marked one of the deadliest incidents in Kashmir in recent years.
Asavari, who works as an HR professional in Pune, said the family had been in the valley, often called “Mini Switzerland,” when they heard gunshots. Initially assuming the firing was a confrontation between terrorists and security forces, they took shelter inside a nearby tent. But the gunmen soon approached, ordering her father out of the tent and accusing them of supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After demanding he recite an Islamic verse, and when he couldn’t, they executed him in cold blood.
Asavari and her mother, along with another relative, were spared, and locals and security forces evacuated them to Pahalgam Club. However, Asavari remains uncertain about the condition of her father and uncle, as they have yet to receive any medical updates.
