'Feel relieved those cowards were killed': Wife of Pahalgam victim Vinay Narwal hails Operation Mahadev

Himanshi Narwal's husband was among the victims of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack

After three Pakistani terrorists involved in the Pahalgam massacre were killed during 'Operation Mahadev', Pahalgam terror attack victim Vinay Narwal’s wife Himanshi said she was grateful to the defence forces.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Himanshi said a part of her felt relieved that those “cowards” were killed. “I am grateful to the defence forces for putting their life at risk for justice. But, we need to understand that terrorism needs to be erased from its roots. My husband’s soul would get peace if because of his sacrifice, terrorism gets erased,” she said.

Vinay and Himashi were married days before the terror strike. They were visiting Kashmir for their honeymoon when the 26-year-old Navy officer was killed along with 26 others in cold blood.

Heartbreaking visuals of Himanshi sitting beside the body of her husband, her wedding chooda still on her hands, had shaken the entire nation.

Operation Mahadev was carried out by the Indian Army and Jammu & Kashmir Police this week. The alleged mastermind behind the Pahalgam attack, along with two other terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, were killed in an encounter in the forests near J&K's Dachigam National Park.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on Operation Sindoor, Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that the three terrorists — Suleiman alias Faizal Jatt, Afghan, and Jibran — were killed during Operation Mahadev.

In his earlier address to the Lok Sabha, Shah said  Operation Mahadev began on the night of the Pahalgam killings. “A security meeting was held. In that meeting, it was decided that the killers should not be allowed to flee the country and escape to Pakistan. We made solid arrangements to ensure this,” Shah said.

Shah said on May 22, the Intelligence Bureau received intelligence about the presence of terrorists in a certain area.

“From May 22 to July 22, continuous efforts were made to verify this information,” Shah told the House. "Our Army officers kept patrolling in the cold at high altitudes to pick up their signals. The CRPF also kept patrolling. On July 22, we got success. Through sensors, we got confirmation about the presence of terrorists in the area," he said.

The security forces, acting on an intelligence input, launched an anti-militancy operation in the Mulnar area of Harwan on Monday morning. Two rounds of gunshots were heard from a distance as security forces were carrying out searches of the area.