‘Must have done something good to be alive’: Woman recounts deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam

A woman who survived the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday (Apr 22) that killed at least 27, believes she must have done something good in life to survive the deadly terror attack. 

Neha alias Kishori Waghulade, who works as a casual announcer with the All India Radio (AIR) in Maharashtra's Jalgaon city, was visiting Pahalgam with a group of holiday-makers. She was admiring the picturesque beauty of the Baisaran meadows, a prime tourist location, when gunshots echoed in the upper reaches of Pahalgam, where at least 27 people were gunned down by terrorists.

“I must have done something good in life, that’s why I am still alive,” she told her husband after surviving the terror attack, as cited by PTI. Her husband, Tushar Waghulade, said his wife went to Kashmir with a group of friends on April 15. 

“The group was in Pahalgam. I had not been in touch with her for two days because of work. When I called her around 2 pm on Tuesday, she said there was firing and a terror attack was taking place. She told me she was safe and would contact me later,” he said. 

“She sounded shaken. Then she cut the call. I understood how serious it was,” he added. They later spoke again in the evening when she assured him she was fine.

“Between 7.30 pm and 8 pm, she told me she was fine. She mentioned ambulances and that more security personnel were arriving. She said some tourists had died, but her group was safe,” Tushar said. “She told me that during the afternoon call there was a loud noise and people were panicking. After she hung up, I assumed her group had been moved to a safer place.” 

Tushar said that his wife described how the Indian Army responded to the situation in Pahalgam. “She said the Army acted fast. They first hid tourists in vehicles and ambulances, and later shifted everyone to a safe place about 1.5 km from the attack site. Many tourists spent the night there,” he said.

The group continued their journey the next morning to Katra.

“Today (Wednesday), they left for Katra to continue their tour and will later visit the Vaishno Devi Temple,” he said. Tushar said his wife works as a casual announcer with the AIR in Jalgaon and is also a counsellor.