Pahalgam Terrorist Attack: ‘I Am Alive, My Namesake Was Killed’ Says Sangli Juice Seller Who Escaped the Spot by an Hour

Santosh Jagdale, a juice seller from Sangli, Maharashtra, said that he was lucky enough to escape the spot of the Pahalgam terrorist attack on time. Speaking with news agency PTI, he said that his namesake from Pune was killed in the attack, and after the names of the victims were announced, his phone has not stopped ringing. Security officials on Wednesday, April 23, released images of four terrorists involved in a fatal terrorist attack in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir that killed 28 tourists from various regions of the nation, including six from Maharashtra. Asianet News adds that two of the accused terrorists are thought to be foreigners, and that all of them are associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let), a group located in Pakistan.

Speaking with PTI, the 49-year-old juice seller from Sangli said, "I am Santosh Laxman Jagdale. My namesake, Santosh Eknath Jagdale, also from Maharashtra, was killed in the attack. After the name 'Santosh Jagdale' appeared in national media as one of the victims, I have been getting calls throughout the night and till this morning from my village people, kin and friends, asking about my wellbeing.”

Sharing how he escaped the spot, he said, "I had gone to the spot in a car from Pahalgam. We did not prefer ponies. We were a group of four people, including me, my wife, my friend, and his wife, in the car. We left the spot of the attack an hour before the firing began, unaware that the decision to return would save our lives. It was only some time after we returned to our hotel that we heard about the horrific attack."

Now all of them are waiting to board the flight home, he said.

Also Read: Pahalgam Terror Attack: Mortal Remains of 6 Maharashtra Tourists to Be Flown Home, Minister Girish Mahajan Leaves For Srinagar

The tourists were massacred on April 22 when heavily armed terrorists emerged from the trees of Baisaran, a meadow perched on a hill not far from Pahalgam. Following the assault, the Resistance Front, which outlawed the LeT terrorist organisation, took credit for the attacks on tourist groups in Pahalgam, also referred to as "Mini Switzerland." The administration did not, however, issue any public declarations verifying the purported photos. Pakistan denied any involvement in the most deadly incident and distanced itself from it.

According to the information given by the Chief Minister's Office, the bodies of Sanjay Lele and Dilip Disle, who lost their lives in the terrorist attack, will be brought to Mumbai by an Air India flight from Srinagar. This flight left Srinagar at 12.15 pm. The flight carrying the bodies of Kaustubh Ganwate and Santosh Jagdale from Pune will leave at 6 pm. The bodies of Hemant Joshi and Atul Mone will be brought from Srinagar by a flight at 1.15 pm.