'Blood spilled on my shirt': Silchar tourist recounts Pahalgam horror

Silchar, April 23: In what can only be described as a brush with death, a family from Silchar, narrowly escaped the deadly terrorist attack that claimed 26 lives at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

Among the survivors was Professor Debashish Bhattacharjee, head of the Bengali Department at Assam University, Silchar, who recounted the harrowing ordeal that unfolded before his eyes.

“We had included Baisaran in our holiday itinerary. Never did we imagine it would become the site of such horror,” Bhattacharjee told The Assam Tribune, still visibly shaken.

Recounting the chilling moments, he said the first sound of gunfire was mistaken for forest officials trying to scare off monkeys.

“But very quickly, we realised something was terribly wrong. We ducked behind a tree. One man nearby seemed confused, frozen in place; moments later, a gunman in a covered face approached him and shot him dead in cold blood. The incident was so close, some blood even splattered onto my shirt,” Bhattacharjee shared.

What followed was a terrifying brush with the assailants. “One of them came very close and asked me what I was murmuring. I had been whispering ‘la ilaha illallah’ (the kalmia) under my breath. But miraculously, he turned away,” he recalled.

For the next two hours, Bhattacharjee and his family scrambled to find a way out, eventually managing to reach their driver and flee the area. They later reached Srinagar safely.

Tuesday’s attack — the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama bombing — saw multiple terrorists, believed to be members of The Resistance Front (TRF), open fire on tourists at the scenic Baisaran meadow.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers, wearing camouflage and Indian Army fatigues, emerged from nearby pine forests and began firing indiscriminately.

Victims hailed from several states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu.

At least 20 others were injured, many of them severely traumatised. Survivors described scenes of chaos, with families scattered, children crying, and tourists running for cover through dense woods.

Intelligence sources have identified the attackers as belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba's offshoot, The Resistance Force, with the operation reportedly masterminded by top LeT commander Saifullah Kasuri.

A manhunt has been launched, with helicopters deployed and ground forces combing the surrounding forests.