6 from Maha killed and at least 6 injured in Pahalgam terror attack

Mumbai: At least six tourists from Maharashtra were killed while six others were injured amid a hail of terrorist gunfire in Pahalgam on Tuesday. The tally could rise.

CM Devendra Fadnavis was in constant touch with Kashmir's divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidari. The names of the deceased are Dilip Disle of Panvel, Atul Mone, Hemant Joshi and Sanjay Lele of Kalyan-Dombivli and Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote of Pune. Of the injured, two are from Panvel, three from Nagpur and one from Pune.

Supervisor district emergency officer Mushtaq Ahmed from the emergency helpline in Srinagar confirmed the six deaths.

Manik Patil and S Bhalchandra Rao, both from Panvel, were seriously injured as was Jagdale's wife from Pune. In addition, three members of the Rupchandani family from Nagpur have been injured.

While the CM tweeted about Disle and Mone's deaths, TOI found that Mone's two relatives from Dombivli, Hemant Joshi and Sanjay Lele, were also killed. Their relatives confirmed so to TOI. The three, all between 45 and 50 years of age, had gone to Kashmir via Ahmedabad on Sunday with nine members of their family.

Thane zone-III DCP Atul Zende confirmed that three people from Dombivli - Sanjay Lele of Navpada Chowk, Subhash Road, Atul Mone of Samrat Chowk and Hemant Joshi - had succumbed to bullet injuries. He said, "The terror attack claimed the lives of three individuals from Navpada, Pandurang Wadi, and Nandivli areas of Dombivli East and West. All three had travelled to Kashmir for tourism. They sustained injuries during firing and succumbed during treatment."

Officials from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had established contact with the Jagdale and Rupchandani families. Civil aviation minister Muralidhar Mohol met relatives of a few tourists from Pune.

A senior CMO official said the Pahalgam administration had despatched the list, but there were no specific details on their whereabouts in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule was approached by relatives of five injured persons, suggesting the tally of those affected from Maharashtra would rise as information came in.

In Navi Mumbai, DCP Prashant Mohite said Subodh Patil, a Panvel resident, has been injured, while his wife Manik had escaped unhurt. "Due to the chaos after the terror attack, it seems Srinagar police have wrongly mentioned Patil as Patel and said Manik was injured, when Subodh was the one according to information obtained from the tour operator through which 39 tourists had gone to J&K. But actual details will be available after an update from J&K authorities. The injured have been airlifted to a hospital in Srinagar and are undergoing treatment." Disle, a resident of Khanda Colony, Panvel, was part of this group of 39.

Pune's Karvenagar resident Asawari Jagdale said the terrorists fired indiscriminately, causing bullet injuries to her father Santosh Jagdale, and uncle Kaustubh Ganbote. Speaking to TOI over phone, Jagdale said, "We are five members of a family. We were sightseeing at Betaab valley minutes before attack. The indiscriminately opened fire on the tourists. I don't know what happened thereafter. Army authorities shifted survivors to a safe place. I don't know to which hospital my father and uncle have been shifted."

Meanwhile, Mumbai police officials asked all their senior personnel to remain alert. "All senior inspectors and zonal deputy commissioners of police are instructed to remain more alert and vigilant in their jurisdiction," said a senior police officer. Intelligence personnel were also busy keeping vigil and monitoring the situation.

Before the final toll from the state was clear, CM Fadnavis wrote on Tuesday evening on X, "I strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam. My heartfelt tributes to the ones who lost lives. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. We stand strongly with the bereaved families. Praying for speedy recovery of the injured ones. We are in touch with the senior officials of the J&K administration." He added, "Called and spoke to Kashmir's Divisional Commissioner Vijaykumar Bidari and took detailed info. As per the information received so far, two tourists from Maharashtra have lost their lives, namely Dilip Disle and Atul Mone."