AHMEDABAD: A new revelation has come from a survivor of the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 when 26 tourists were killed mercilessly at the Baisaran meadow in Jammu and Kashmir. Gujarat tourist Rishi Bhatt has made a suspicion against the zipline service provider who was on site during the attack. Bhatt, who only narrowly escaped being shot, asserts that the operator exclaimed “Allahu Akbar” three times immediately prior to the attack taking place, undermining his involvement in the incident.
Bhatt, who was able to capture a video of his ziplining experience, said that the sound of gunshots began shortly after the chants of the operator. In the viral video, Bhatt is seen zipping across the horizon as gunfire echoes in the distance.
Remembering the order of incidents, Bhatt narrated the unsettling conduct of the operator. “Nine tourists zipped in front of me, and he didn’t say a word. But when I went, he yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times, and that’s when immediately after, firing started. I have serious suspicions about him,” Bhatt declared. The operator, he added, seemed like a regular local Kashmiri fellow.
Bhatt went on to explain his terrifying experience: “When I was ziplining, I heard the firing. After 20 seconds, I knew it was a terrorist attack. I saw five or six people getting shot.” In a last-ditch effort to save his family, Bhatt quickly unhooked himself from the zipline, scooped up his wife and son, and ran. The family hid in a nearby pit with other tourists.
Explaining the brutality, Bhatt said terrorists seemed to select their targets on the basis of religion. “Two families who were in front of us were asked to tell us their religion. The men were then killed in front of my son and wife. It was terrible, they were crying out of fear,” he explained. The two rounds of gunfire were seared in Bhatt’s memory, the first lasting around 8-10 minutes before it went quiet, only to continue shortly afterward. “By the time we had got to the gate, most of the locals had already escaped,” he explained. In all, Bhatt estimated that 15-16 individuals died during the attack.