Anguish as pilgrims’ bodies arrive in Gujarat
Terrorists sprayed a bus, which mostly had unsuspecting pilgrims from Gujarat, with bullets, killing seven, including six women, and wounding 19 others in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday
SURAT/MUMBAI: Gujarat brimmed over with anger and anguish as the bodies of seven Amarnath pilgrims slain by terrorists in Kashmir arrived amid angry protests across the state and calls to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reprisal.
Terrorists sprayed a bus, which mostly had unsuspecting pilgrims from Gujarat, with bullets, killing seven, including six women, and wounding 19 others in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since 2001.
A pall of gloom enveloped the airport when an Indian Air Force’s Hurcules transport aircraft landed with the bodies, the wounded, and those who miraculously survived the ambush, amid a high alert in the state.
Gujarat, with its long history of communal strife and riots, had burnt in fierce fire of violence whose embers took months to die down when bodies of Sabarmati train burning incident were brought down to Ahmedabad from Godhra in 2002. Though no violence has been reported from anywhere in the state so far, there were angry protests in various cities and towns, with people burning effigies of ‘terror’, and demanding that the Modi government “avenge” the killings and punish culprits for the outrage. Protests were held in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Valsad, Mandvi (in Kutch) and Bharuch, among others.
Effigies of ‘terror’ were burnt in Gandhidham and Mandvi towns in Kutch district and Surat.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel were present at the airport to receive the victims and survivors. Distraught families of those killed stoically fought back tears as the bodies were carried out of the aircraft one by one. Rupani inquired after the condition of those injured in the attack and spoke with those who escaped death by a whisker without getting hit by bullets that looked like raining on them from nowhere in pitch darkness.
Amid the grim and gloomy tales of the attack shone through the story of wisdom and courage of the Bus driver’s bravery saves lives of many Amarnath pilgrims Muslim driver of the bus--Salim Sheikh--whose quick thinking saved the lives of many.
As terrorists sprinkled the bus with gunfire, the man from Gujarat’s Valsad showed exemplary grit and presence of mind as he kept driving even though the owner of the vehicle lay soaked in blood beside him, having taken three bullets.
Driving at break neck speed, Sheikh slammed the brakes only after reaching a military camp, some two kilometres away from the scene of the ambush.
“God gave me strength to save their lives. At around 8 pm yesterday, the terrorists started firing. They kept on firing non-stop from the front,” Shaikh, who is being hailed as a hero, said.
“I decided to keep on driving, and ducked to avoid getting hit. I kept on driving until we reached a safe place,” the driver told reporters at the airport.
As Sheikh ducked to save himself, three bullets hit the bus owner, Harsh Desai, who was sitting by his side. Though Desai fell down, Sheikh did not lose his cool and kept driving.