Pahalgam terror attack: First trip together ends in tragedy for Pune friends

“But no one ever thought it would end like this,” he said.

“We have lost a diamond, a Kohinoor diamond. I knew him very well. He was a very good man, ever smiling, ” said Sukharam Chaudhary, owner of a shop in Kondhwa Budruk, next to the late Kaustubh Ganbote’s shop.

“I am feeling extremely sad. He was a calm man, never got angry with anyone. His wife used to buy groceries for their household from our shop itself. Kaustubh and I used to have great conversations whenever we met, about business and other things. If such incidents start happening with us then how can we be safe?” said Chaudhary who got to know about the news only on Wednesday morning.

Varna Shinde, an employee at Chaudhary’s shop, said, “Ganbote had a very good character. Sab ke saath mil-jul ke rehte the (he was amicable with everyone).  I also used to buy farsan from his shop. I had seen him before the trip and talked to his wife. Their family is very nice and has good relations with us. I am very pained, he was an extremely calm man.”

Jagdale ran a business selling farsan and offering interior decoration services. His daughter Ashavari worked as an HR executive in a software company. Neighbours described the family as quiet and unassuming, saying they kept to themselves mostly. Living on the ground floor of a three-storey building in Karvenagar in Pune, the family maintains a small garden.

Navale said the family had gone to Arunachal Pradesh the previous year. “They enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of nature there,” he said.

“The trip to Kashmir was anticipated to be special since Santosh had last visited the place with his parents when he was very young, making this holiday a sort of revisit to his childhood,” said Navale.

The Jagdale family arrived in Kashmir on Sunday and nearly got caught in the Ramban landslide, said Navale. However, they managed to reach Pahalgam after a 16-hour drive.

Pragati called a neighbour to inform them that they had arrived in Pahalgam safely. On Tuesday, another neighbour received another call from Pragati. The news this time was far from pleasant.

As the word about Jagdale’s death spread, neighbours and family friends started to arrive at their Karvenagar house.

Santosh’s elder brother, Ajay, was not in a position to talk, but he said they could not speak to Santosh’s wife and daughter in Jammu and Kashmir properly over the phone due to poor phone connectivity.

Navale remembered his family friend as a true gentleman. “He had made detailed plans to expand his business. This was not his time to go, especially not in a violent attack like this,” he said.