Pahalgam attack: 'Removed bindis, chanted Allahu Akbar but our husbands still shot'

PUNE: "We immediately removed 'tikli' (bindi) from our foreheads and started chanting 'Allahu Akbar', hoping we would be spared. But, they still killed my husband, his friend and another person sitting nearby," recounted a grieving Sangita Gunbote, while speaking to NCP(SCP) veteran Sharad Pawar on Thursday.

The mortal remains of Sangita's husband Kaustubh Gunbote (58) and his childhood friend Santosh Jagdale (50) were consigned to flames at Pune's Vaikunth crematorium on Thursday morning. Cries of sorrow and anger rang out as thousands gathered for the funerals of the two friends, who were shot dead by terrorists in Pahalgam in front of their family.

Gunbote and Jagdale were on their first trip together with their families. Sangita said after the two men were shot, she, along with Jagdale's wife and daughter Asavari, rushed to the main Pahalgam market area on horseback to get help for the injured. "A local horse rider we had hired to reach the valley helped us reach the market," she said, adding that another local cab driver helped them get in touch with authorities. By that time, the military had started to airlift the injured to hospital, she said.

Apart from Pawar, minister Chandrakant Patil and former CM Prithviraj Chavan also visited the two families, while Union minister Murlidhar Mohol and state minister Madhuri Misal attended the funeral.

Earlier, a plane carrying the bodies of Jagdale and Gunboe landed in Pune around 4am. Mourners gathered in large numbers at their homes from across the city - some were friends; others were just stunned by the violence and turned up to show solidarity.

"What the terrorists did was inhuman. India's reaction must send a message to the world that we will not tolerate extremism," said Chandrakant Gadgil, who attended the cremation. Another mourner, Pramila Zurange, agreed, saying, "Those who were involved in the attack should be brought to justice as soon as possible."