Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 24 (ANI): The mortal remains of two victims, residents of Karnataka, have been brought to Bengaluru Airport from Srinagar. To express solidarity, BJP MP Tejashvi Surya accompanied all the family members from Srinagar to Bengaluru.
Bharat Bhushan from Bengaluru and Manjunath Rao from Shivamogga were killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Their family members are already present at the Bengaluru Airport.
Speaking to reporters, Surya termed the Pahalgam terror attack as one of the “most dastardly” and “barbaric” attacks.
The BJP MP further emphasised that the Union Home Ministry, the local administration and the state government worked in coordination to ensure the safe return of the mortal remains as well as the surviving family members to Bengaluru.
“Three people from Karnataka were brutally murdered in a terror attack in Pahalgam. In coordination with the Union Home Ministry, the local administration, and the state government, we have ensured that the mortal remains and the surviving family members reach Bengaluru safely. I accompanied all the family members from Srinagar to Bengaluru. In recent memory, this is one of the most dastardly and barbaric attacks we have seen. Bharat Bhushan is survived by a 3-year-old son, who doesn’t even comprehend what death means… Son of Manjunath has just completed his 12th and scored 96% in the examination. He told me that it was the first and the last flight that his father had taken with the family. His exceptionally strong mother has blood stains on the jackets she is wearing, and she said that she will not clean them as it is the last memory of his husband…” Surya told reporters.
Reacting to the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, Union Minister Veeranna Somanna said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the decisions to protect the country and its people.
“Historical decisions have been made. PM Modi has taken the decisions to protect the country, and the people of the country are welcoming it…”
He further said, “Our MP Tejasvi Surya is with them. I have talked to the family.”
As the residents of Shivamogga have called for a half-day ‘bandh’ (shutdown), Manjunath Rao’s brother-in-law Pradeep stated that they don’t want to trouble anyone because of their suffering, adding that they have to complete the final rites before sunset today.
“…We don’t want to trouble anyone because of our suffering, but I have heard that many people have called for a half-day ‘bandh’ and they will attend the final rites. All the preparations have been made for the final rites as today will be the third day, and as per our traditions, we have to complete the final rites before sunset today…” Pradeep told ANI.
Rao’s sister-in-law, Vinutha, reiterated the same. “We have made all the arrangements in Shivamogga, as it’s the third day and we have to finish the final rites before sunset,” she said.
As many as 26 people were killed in the dastardly attack by terrorists on tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
India on Wednesday announced a series of steps to give a strong message to Pakistan for its support to cross-border terrorism, stating that the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance and the integrated checkpost at Attari will be closed with immediate effect.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed a special press conference after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security and said Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa Exemption scheme.
The CCS meeting, which lasted over two hours, was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), which met on Wednesday, was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed.
The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured. In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out.
The families of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack mourned the loss of their loved ones as they urged the government to take strong action against the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
The attack, carried out by terrorists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on Tuesday, is one of the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The attack was one of the biggest terror attacks in the region after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. (ANI)