By Special Correspondent
Pune: The tragic return of Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote — two of the six Maharashtrians killed in the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir — has left Pune in mourning. Their mortal remains were brought to Pune on Thursday morning. As their bodies arrived, Santosh Jagdale’s wife broke down in tears, narrating the haunting ordeal of the attack.
“The terrorists shot him in the head. I couldn’t even see his face,” she cried. “Even here, they haven’t let us see his face. What kind of farewell is this?”
She recounted the trauma of witnessing terror unfold in front of their eyes. “My husband was shot in the head. His face was disfigured. We couldn’t see him one last time. My children saw their father being shot dead. We slipped and fell in the mud while trying to escape. I can’t even stand on my feet now,” she said.
“Please do something. Find the terrorists and kill them. They tore our people apart, shot them in the head, spilled their brains and blood on the ground – do the same to them and show us their dead bodies,” she demanded, her voice trembling with rage and sorrow.
This was the family’s first day of vacation in Kashmir — what was supposed to be a scenic getaway turned into a nightmare. “The terrorists masked their faces. They shot even the horseman who tried to protect us, saying ‘Don’t kill the tourists,’” she told senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar during his visit to her residence in Karvenagar, Pune.
“Local villagers and even army officers there cried with us. This kind of cruelty must end. Innocent lives are being destroyed,” she added.
On Tuesday afternoon, armed terrorists opened fire on Indian tourists in the picturesque Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam, killing at least 26 and injuring 20 others. The attack is believed to be the deadliest civilian massacre in Kashmir in six years and the first where tourists were directly targeted.
Among the dead were six tourists from Maharashtra, including Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote. Their bodies were flown back to Pune on Thursday morning and taken to their respective homes for last rites.
Sharad Pawar personally visited the homes of both victims and offered condolences to the grieving families. At Jagdale’s home, he spoke with the bereaved wife and daughter, listening as they described the horror they experienced.
Santosh Jagdale’s wife described the moment that changed their lives forever. “It happened around 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. The terrorists came out of nowhere. They knew exactly what they were doing. They singled out the men. They shot my husband right in front of us. My children were screaming.”
Her words paint a chilling picture of a peaceful family holiday turned into a scene of unspeakable brutality. “They destroyed our lives in seconds,” she said, demanding justice not just for her family, but for every Indian who lost their loved ones.
