Chandigarh: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda said on Wednesday that a strong and decisive counterattack is needed against the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.
“There is anger in the country due to this cowardly act. The whole country is united against terrorism. The country demands from the government that the culprits should not be spared under any circumstances. There should be a decisive attack against terrorism, and a strong message should be given to the enemies of the country,” said the former Chief Minister.
He added that the guilty should not be spared and called for a decisive strike against terrorism, adding that the cowardice and barbarity shown by the beasts who targeted innocent tourists in Pahalgam is intolerable.
“Until those cowards and their masters are brought to justice, the victim families will not get justice,” he said. Hooda paid emotional tribute to Karnal resident and Indian Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, 26, and said he had got married just a few days ago, but the terrorists took his life in this attack.
“The country stands with the family in this hour of grief,” he added.
The Navy officer, who got married on April 16, from Karnal city, was among 26 people killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
He was on honeymoon in Pahalgam when the tragedy occurred. His wife, Himanshi, hails from Gurugram. His wedding reception was solemnised on April 19.
Hailing from Bhusli village in Karnal district, Narwal was currently living in Sector 7 in Karnal city. He had joined the Navy three years ago. Lieutenant Narwal is survived by his father Rajesh Narwal, an employee in the Excise Department, his mother Asha Narwal, his sister Srishti, and his grandfather Hawa Singh, a retired police officer.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini spoke to Lieutenant Narwal’s grandfather through a video call and assured the family that the state stands firmly with them in this hour of sorrow.
Assembly Speaker Harvinder Kalyan, Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand, and Mayor Renu Bala Gupta also visited the family to pay their respects.
Lieutenant Narwal’s next-door neighbour, Seema, told the media that Vinay got married with great celebrations.
“The festivities went on for 10 days. He was a lovely boy. He did engineering and later cleared the Navy exam to become a Class I officer. They were planning a honeymoon in Switzerland, but since he couldn’t get leave, they went to Kashmir instead. It all happened so suddenly, like someone’s evil eye struck them.”
“We got the news last night. I can’t imagine what his family is going through. His twin sister and father have gone to bring his body back.”
“We saw videos where a girl was crying and saying that she pleaded with the terrorists to kill her too, but they told her ‘we are sparing you so you can go tell Modi what happened’,” she added.
Initial reports said Lieutenant Narwal was shot in the chest, neck and left arm and was brought dead to the hospital.
At least 26 tourists and local civilians were killed on Tuesday after gunmen opened fire on innocent civilians in Baisaran in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to eyewitness accounts, a group of heavily armed terrorists emerged from the nearby forests and opened indiscriminate fire on civilians, most of whom were tourists.
Baisran is a small meadow three to four km from the Pahalgam market, and tourists take horses to reach the place as there is no motorable road to it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday morning after cutting his Saudi Arabia trip short due to the terror attack.
He had a brief meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at the airport. PM Modi strongly condemned the terror attack on Tuesday, stating that the guilty will be brought to justice and reaffirming India’s “unshakable” resolve to fight terrorism.
(IANS)
