"Kept Shooting Till They Fell": Mother-In-Law Of Man Killed In Pahalgam

Bharat Bhushan, a techie from Bengaluru, was shot dead in front of his wife and their three-year-old son by terrorists in one of the worst attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday. Mr Bhushan's mother-in-law, who spoke to her "spared" daughter last afternoon, said that the terrorists asked the victims if they were Hindu and then kept shooting till they fell to the ground.

"They apparently asked if you were Hindu and then shot them, they were shot because they were Hindus, they shot my son-in-law...They didn't shoot women and children, but shot the men in the head. They kept shooting till they fell down," she said.

She added, "My daughter is a doctor, she realised he was dead. She then took the mobile and the purse and ran. We spoke to her at 2.45 pm."

According to Mr Bhushan's mother-in-law, her daughter, Sujatha, was taken by the Indian Army to a safe place.

The 41-year-old techie, originally from Andhra Pradesh's Nellore, used to manage his family-run diagnostic center. They lived in Bengaluru's Mattikere area.

He was on vacation with his wife and son.

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday night said that he had spoken to Ms Sujatha and coordinated with the local administration for their safe stay in Anantnag.

"Just now spoke with Mrs. Sujata, a resident of Mattikere, Bengaluru. Her husband Sri Bharat Bhushan was shot dead earlier today in the terror attack. She and her 3-year-old son have survived," he wrote in a post on X.

Apart from Mr Bhushan, another realtor from Karnataka's Shivamogga, Manjunath Rao, was killed in the Pahalgam attack. He was also on vacation with his wife and son.

Pahalgam terror attack

Twenty-six people were killed and many others were injured as multiple terrorists descended on Baisaran Valley - a tourist hotspot with rolling hills and verdant orchards - and opened fire on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses said that as the gunshots rang out, there was panic among the tourists who ran for cover. However, there was no place for them to hide in the wide, open space, they said.

Disturbing videos also surfaced showing people pleading for help for their family members who were shot.

Among those dead was a Navy officer who was married a week ago, an Intelligence Bureau official who was shot dead in front of his wife, two foreigners - from the UAE and Nepal - and two locals.

A massive manhunt has been launched to track down the terrorists, with the Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir police cordoning off the area. The security agencies today released a photograph of four terrorists involved in the attack. Officials said that while all of them are linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), at least two are believed to be foreigners.

Reports have suggested that 'The Resistance Front' (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, has claimed responsibility. However, the government is yet to confirm this.

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