‘They heard gunshots. Driver called, asked us to turn around’: Pune tourists who had a close shave at Pahalgam

“We stopped to have lunch, but the Innova didn’t, and being a smaller vehicle, it quickly zoomed ahead. They witnessed the chaos there with the horses running around,” said Deshmukh, and claimed that the MPV was just 300-400 metres away from Baisaran, the tourist attraction at Pahalgam where militants opened fire at visitors.

“The Innova went ahead towards the site of the attack, and we were three to four kilometres behind them. They heard gunshots, and the Innova’s driver identified them. He also got a call about it. He immediately called us and asked to turn the buses around,” said Deshmukh.

“It was quite a close shave. We saw the police vehicles and ambulances passing by,” he added.

Deshmukh said the Innova driver took the vehicle to a nearby resort he knew, and halted there for a couple of hours till things cooled down. “He then brought the Innova back to our buses. The locals here are very nice, they help us immediately. They considered us as their responsibility,” Deshmukh added.

The group then returned from Pahalgam to Srinagar. They had planned to leave for Amritsar by road Wednesday, but have now cancelled the trip and hope to get back to Pune soon. “We are safe right now. But the landslide on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway means we can’t leave by road, and we don’t have a flight either,” said Deshmukh.

Ganesh Bhagwat (in a muffler, standing, second row) and the family group before the attack

Deshmukh claimed there was no communication from the Jammu and Kashmir administration, but their tour operator told their Pune representatives, who assured a flight back to the city either on Wednesday or the day after.

‘We thought of Kashmir’

Sagar Yashwant Kudale from Nanded city was at the car park of Pahalgam, trying to hire horses to take them to the top, when a sudden wave of panic swept through.

“The owners of the horses began to run with the horses. Everybody was rushing away. A few Kashmiri people told us that there had been a terror attack, and we should escape. Without wasting a moment, we gathered the children and ran towards our vehicle,” Kudale said over the phone from a hotel in Srinagar.

He was travelling with 30 members of his family, half of whom were at Baisaran and the rest were with him in the car park.

He said residents helped them after the attack, and as the police and the Army swept the area, they were not allowed to stop anywhere. Ganesh Bhagwat, also in the hotel business, who was a member of the group, says, “We were terrified. We didn’t know if our family members, who had already left for Baisaran, were safe. There is a different route to go up and down, and we didn’t know which one they would take.”

The family said it wouldn’t step out of the hotel Wednesday, as Srinagar has been locked down, with all shops shut and an Army presence everywhere after the Pahalgam terror attack.

The family, from brothers-in-law to uncles and aunts to nephews, travel together once a year and went to Uttarakhand last year. “This year, everybody wanted to play with snow as Pune has become so hot. So, we thought of Kashmir. We booked three months ago,” says Kudale, adding that he wasn’t returning to the Valley anytime soon, “certainly not with family”.

They are trying to get back to Pune at the earliest. Kundale said that MP Muralidhar Mohol had been in touch and asked for their identity cards to make arrangements for flights back. “We have given our IDs. Let’s see what happens,” says Kudale.

‘Delayed Shikara ride saved our lives’

Yashwant Ranaware, a resident of Aundh, told The Indian Express they reached the parking area near the attack site around 3 pm when the firing had just happened.

“We were about to book the horse ride, which covers the scenic Baisaran meadows, but saw people rushing, and then we learned about the attack. We then came back to our hotel at the foothills of the meadow and returned to Srinagar on Wednesday after the private vehicle movement was allowed,” said Ranaware.

“Fortunately, we got delayed as we were enjoying the complimentary Shikara ride on Dal Lake. Otherwise, we might have faced a horrific terror attack. Moreover, people were very cooperative and courteous. Despite the red alert in Kashmir, where all establishments were asked to shut down, residents offered us food and other essentials and are planning to return to Pune as the situation comes to normal,” added Ranaware.

Shubham Kurale is an intern with The Indian Express.