Navy officer Vinay Narwal was on his honeymoon in the picturesque Indian federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir when he was shot dead in front of his wife by militants in one of the worst attacks on tourists in the Himalayan region in decades.
The 26-year-old lieutenant from Karnal in India’s northern state of Haryana got married on 16 April and hosted a wedding reception over the weekend before travelling to Kashmir for a short visit. Narwal was enjoying the views of the Baisaran meadow, some 5km from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam, when militants opened fire, killing him on the spot.
Narwal, who joined the Indian Navy just two years ago, was one of the 26 tourists killed in the Kashmir valley on Tuesday afternoon, which marked a major shift in regional conflict, where visitors have largely been spared. The attack coincided with US vice president JD Vance’s four-day visit to India, where he met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
At least four militants fired at dozens of tourists, most of them Indians, from close range, eyewitnesses said. At least 24 bodies were collected in the aftermath of the attack and two people died while being taken for medical treatment.
A little-known militant group, the “Kashmir Resistance”, claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message, according to Reuters. However, there was no immediate official confirmation of this claim. Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers.
Distressing visuals in the aftermath of the attack showed several women begging for their husbands’ lives to be saved in what appears to be a targeted strike on male tourists. Women and children were spared.
“We were eating when a man came and shot my husband,” a survivor said, asking for help to save her bleeding husband. Several people were seen lying motionless on the ground, some in a pool of blood.
Shubham Dwivedi, a newlywed man from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, was in Kashmir with his wife for a short vacation when the militants killed him.
The scenic Kashmir, adorned with snow-capped mountains, lush green valleys, pristine rivers, and lakes, has been a popular honeymoon destination among newlyweds in India and the Asian subcontinent.
Saurabh Dwivedi, the cousin of the victim, alleged that the militants began firing after asking the names of the men and shot them in the head.
“Shubham bhaiya (brother) got married on 12 February this year. My sister-in-law called my uncle and told him that Shubham was shot in the head. It is also being said that the firing started after asking for the names of the individuals,” Mr Dwivedi told ANI news agency.
“We have received information that the body will be released after 2-3 days after completing all the procedures.”
A Nepalese national, identified as Sundip Nevpane, was among the two foreign nationals killed in Tuesday’s attack. Another victim, Neeraj Udhawani, was listed as a United Arab Emirates national in the list of fatalities released by the Indian government.
Officials on Wednesday said six of the victims were from Maharashtra, three from Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat, two from Karnataka, and one each from Haryana, West Bengal, and Bihar.
Pallavi from Karnataka watched her husband, Manjunath Rao, being shot dead in front of her and her son while on a family vacation. “We were at Pahalgam. He died on the spot, in front of my eyes. It still feels like a bad dream,” she told India Today.
The bereaved woman said she told them to “kill me too, you’ve killed my husband”. But one of the militants said: “I won’t kill you. Go tell this to [Narendra] Modi”.
Mr Modi cut short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to New Delhi on Wednesday morning. “Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice,” the prime minister said. “They will not be spared. Their evil agenda will never succeed.”
Manish Ranjan, an Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer from Bihar state, who was on a family vacation, was shot dead. Two Maharashtra locals, identified as Dilip Desale and Atul Mone, 52, were killed during their trip.
On Wednesday, Susanta Satpathy, the brother of Prashant Satpathy from Odisha, killed in the militant attack, said he was unaware where his sister-in-law and nephew were.
Among the dead was 44-year-old Shailesh Bhai Himmat Bhai Kadatiya, who is survived by his wife and children. He was on a family vacation to escape the summer heat of Gujarat when the trip turned into a nightmare. Kashmir has seen a spate of targeted killings of Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, after New Delhi ended the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019 and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties, and media freedoms.
At least 44 Indian soldiers were killed in the suicide bombing of a paramilitary convoy in Kashmir in 2019.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
