On video taken during zipline ride, Ahmedabad tourist inadvertently ‘captures’ Pahalgam attack

Bhatt, who is in the business of event and wedding management, said he had planned the Kashmir holiday with his family from April 16-27 but cut it short after the attack in which 26 people were killed. He was accompanied by wife Bhakti (35) and son Preet (11).

“I realised that there was a terrorist attack after around 20 seconds on the ride when I saw that 4-5 persons had sustained bullet injuries below. During the first 2-3 firings, I could not make out (that it was a terror attack). But when the (frequency of) firings increased and I saw 2-3 persons falling down, I realised that it was a terrorist attack,” Bhatt, who shot the video on his mobile phone with a selfie stick, said.

“As I realised (towards the end of the ride), my wife and my son were shouting at me and I stopped shooting the video and jumped before the end point by opening the belt. My wife told me that two people from two families were killed (by terrorists) after asking their religion,” he added.

Bhatt said that he, too, saw the two dead bodies.

According to Bhatt, while running away from the spot, the family crouched on the ground for some time and started running again when the firing stopped. Soon, Army personnel had arrived providing them safety.

Bhatt said after seeing the video on his mobile phone on April 23, he shared it with a defence officer in Ahmedabad. “He (the defence officer) must have done inquiries at his end and after three days allowed me to share it with the media and others,” Bhatt said.

He said that so far, no security agency has recorded his statement on the video.

Bhatt said he had reached Pahalgam on April 22 and had scheduled a night stay there. But after the attack, the family left for Srinagar and returned to Ahmedabad on April 23.