Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Apr 23: Two residents of Bengaluru were among those killed in the brutal terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, April 22 which has claimed over 28 lives so far. The deceased have been identified as Bharat Bhushan (41), originally from Ranebennur in Haveri district, and Madhusudan Rao, a native of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh who had settled in Ramamurthy Nagar, Bengaluru. These deaths reported follow the horrific killing of realtor Manjunath Rao from Shivamogga who too was on a vacation with his wife and 18-year-old son in Pahalgam taking the total toll from Karnataka so far to three.
Bharat Bhushan, who worked for a private firm in the city, had travelled to Kashmir for a vacation with his wife Sujata (37) and their three-year-old son. The family lived near JP Park in Yeshwanthpur. According to Sujata’s harrowing account to family members, a gunman approached them, asked for their names and religion, and upon learning they were Hindu, shot Bharat in the head in front of his wife and child.
The traumatised child, witnessing his father’s murder, reportedly screamed, “There’s red colour coming from papa’s head,” while Sujata fled the scene carrying him. Following the incident, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya contacted Sujata and coordinated with local officials to shift her and the child to a military camp in Anantnag for safety.
Madhusudan Rao, the second Bengaluru victim, was a software engineer and had also been on a tourist visit along with his wife, children and friends when he fell prey to the indiscriminate gunfire. Officials confirmed that he was among those killed during the targeted attack in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam.
According to eyewitness reports, the attackers asked tourists their names and religious identity before opening fire. The selective targeting of Hindu men has sparked national outrage, with calls for accountability and heightened security in the valley.
The attack, considered the most severe in the region since 2019, has left dozens injured and drawn condemnation across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have returned from overseas visits to attend an emergency Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting. Home Minister Amit Shah has already held discussions with military officials in Jammu and Kashmir and issued directives for a firm response.
Meanwhile, the bereaved families in Bengaluru are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy, even as arrangements are being made to bring the bodies back home. The shocking nature of the attack, particularly the identity-based killings, has intensified public anger and revived concerns about the safety of tourists in the Kashmir Valley.