'Pahalgam attackers asked dad to recite Islamic verse before killing him': Daughter of Pune businessman

The daughter of a 54-year-old man, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, said the terrorists cursed Prime Minister Narendra Modi before executing tourists on Tuesday.

Asavari Jagdale, 26, the daughter of a Pune-based businessman, recounted how terrorists confronted her father, Santosh Jagdale, demanding he recite an Islamic verse. When he failed to recite, they shot him, first in the head, then behind the ear, and finally in the back.

"We were a group of five people, including my parents. We were in Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam and were at a spot called Mini Switzerland when the firing began," Asavari Jagdale told PTI.

"We immediately rushed to a nearby tent for protection. So did six to seven others (tourists). We all lay down on the ground as protection against the firing, which we then assumed was between the terrorists and security personnel," Asavari said.

Soon, the terrorists approached their tent. “They called out, ‘Chaudhari, tu bahar aa ja,’ targeting my father,” she recalled. They accused the group of supporting PM Modi. They even made some statements to deny that Kashmiri militants kill innocent people, women and children, she said.

"They then asked my father to recite an Islamic verse (probably the Kalma). When he failed to do so, they pumped three bullets into him, one on the head, one behind the ear and another in the back," Asavari asserted.

“My uncle, who was beside me, was also shot multiple times. Several other men at the spot were gunned down as well,” she added.

Asavari, her mother, and another female relative were spared. ‘It was because the attackers claim they don’t harm women,” she said.

Asavari said she doesn't know if her father and uncle are alive or among the dead.

At least 26 tourists have been killed after the attackers opened fire on innocent civilians in Pahalgam's Baisaran in Jammu and Kashmir.