J&K attack: I began reciting Kalma, Assam professor recounts encounter with terrorists

A tourist from Assam, who survived the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, shared the moment of the encounter with the terrorist with India Today.

Associate Professor Debasish Bhattacharyya of Assam University, who was in Pahalgam with his family, shared how he escaped being shot when he came face to face with one of the terrorists.

“We were under the tree when I heard people murmuring the Kalma. I instinctively joined,” he said.

“A terrorist walked up to me. Then he looked at me and asked, ‘What are you doing?”

In response, Bhattacharyya began reciting the Kalma loudly.

“He asked me, ‘What are you saying?’ I kept repeating La ilaha illallah… For some reason, he turned and left,” he recalled.

“I wasn’t directly asked to recite the Kalma, but I heard others doing it under the tree, and I followed them. “I heard the man asking someone if they were taking ‘Ram Naam’,” Bhattacharyya added.

The Assam government has stepped in to make arrangements for Bhattacharya and his family’s safe return.

“The entire family’s return to the State is being arranged on priority and the Govt of Assam is in touch with Govt of India to bring the family back to Assam at the earliest,” Assam chief minister’s office posted on X.

The professor confirmed that he is with his family and all of them are safe and are expected to reach Srinagar on April 26.

The terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday, which claimed 26 lives, left the country in shock and anguish. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In response, India downgraded its diplomatic relations with Pakistan by suspending several strategic schemes including Indus Waters Treaty and SAARC visa exemption for Pakistani nationals.

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