‘It was a bright, beautiful day…we were at a food stall...’

Thane: "My father and uncles were killed in front of me, and we could do nothing," said 18-year-old Richa Mone, daughter of Atul Mone, one of the three Dombivli residents killed by terrorists in Pahalgam.Recalling the traumatic events a day after her father's funeral, the teenager, who recently appeared for her class 12 exams, presented a mostly stoic picture at a press meet, occasionally turning to console her mother or gather her composure. Richa's father, a section engineer in Central Railway, was touring Kashmir with his family and those of his relatives, Hemant Joshi and Sanjay Lele. All three lost their lives in the attack.Richa's mother Anushka described the abrupt manner in which the horrific event unfolded on the first day of a keenly awaited tour. "We reached Baisaran Valley around 1-1.30 pm. It was a bright, beautiful day. Suddenly we heard gunfire, but thought it was some adventure activity nearby." Her husband, she said, became wary when two of the killers approached them and wanted to know who among them were Hindus.Richa and her mother were accompanied at the press meet by the other survivors including Hemant Joshi's wife and son. Joshi's son, Dhruv did not speak much except to say his father's murderers must not be spared.Sanjay Lele's son Harshal said they were at a food stall on the meadow when two persons approached and asked which faith they belonged to. He said initially no one replied. When they asked again, his maternal uncle, Hemant Joshi, tried to reason with them. He said, "Let us go." He was the first to be shot.When the two terrorists turned towards the Mones, Anushka said her husband instinctively held her and her daughter to protect them. The killers, she said, asked him to move away. When Mone responded saying they should not harm his family – "We are not doing anything, don't kill us" – one of them shot him in the abdomen from close range.Harshal Lele, 20, who lost his father and received a bullet injury, said the incident will remain forever imprinted on his mind because the terrorists shot his father in the head while Harshal was holding on to him. Harshal was injured because the shots fired at his father grazed his finger.As the killers walked away, the families were too shocked to react for a while, said Richa. They tried to revive her father, but he had lost consciousness. Locals arrived at the spot soon afterwards urging them to leave the spot, saying army personnel would come to help the injured.Harshal said it took them four hours to reach the base camp. His mother, who has had a paralytic attack, fell once during the trek. She was helped by a local horseman. He received news of the death of his father and uncles through the army at around 7.30 pm.