Pahalgam terror attack: The tale of two Jagdales: one killed by the terrorists, the other had miraculous escape

An ambulance carrying the mortal remains of a Pahalgam terror attack victim, leaves from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, in Mumbai, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Six of the 26 people gunned down by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam hailed from Maharashtra, according to officials.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Santosh Jagdale’s phone has not stopped ringing since Tuesday (April 22, 2025) evening. He had barely escaped the terror attack at Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, having visited the picturesque meadows of the town an hour before the terrorists struck at the place. However, he nearly froze in shock when he learned that another person named Santosh Jagdale was among the 28 tourists killed by the terrorists. Six of the victims were from Maharashtra.

As TV channels in the State began flashing the victim’s name, anxious friends and relatives have been calling up Mr. Jagdale. “We had halted at Pahalgam a day before. We went to the meadows around 11 a.m. but when a friend got his leg injured, we decided against staying there and left after 1.30 p.m. It turned out to be a miraculous escape,” he told The Hindu from Srinagar. The terrorists struck at Pahalgam an hour later, around 2.45 p.m. Though the Sangli-based man wants to return home at the earliest, his ticket is booked for Friday. “We are safe. We are in Srinagar,” he reassured.

Pahalgam terrorist attack: Follow LIVE updates on April 23, 2025

He was saddened when he heard of the demise of his namesake. “I am Santosh Laxman Jagdale. He is Santosh Eknath Jagdale. I feel so sad. Everyone has been calling me. I have been receiving calls since Tuesday evening. Even now, people are calling,” he told The Hindu from his hotel room in Srinagar.

When asked about the situation in Srinagar, he said markets were shut, but the situation was otherwise calm. “Security has been beefed up substantially. We are safe here,” he again said. He is visiting the Union Territory with his wife, his friend and the friend’s wife. “I run a sugarcane juice shop in Sangli. I hail from Saswad [in Pune district],” he said.

The other Jagdale too hailed from Pune, and had travelled with his wife, daughter, a relative, and the relative’s wife. The terrorists shot dead both men in the group. His daughter told reporters that the terrorists targeted men based on religion and that her father was asked to recite a verse, and when he could not, was shot in the head and in the back.

The mortal remains of all the deceased were brought back in Maharashtra on Wednesday.