Indore, Apr 24 (PTI) A 25-year-old man from Indore, whose father was shot dead in front of his eyes during the terror attack in Pahalgam town of south Kashmir, on Thursday said the gunmen included minor boys who had cameras mounted on their heads.

Terrorists attacked Baisaran, a prominent tourist spot in Pahalgam known as “Mini Switzerland”, killing at least 26 people and injuring several others on April 22. Most of the deceased were tourists from other states, including 58-year-old Sushil Nathaniel from Indore.

Nathaniel was posted as a manager at the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) office in Alirajpur, about 200km from Indore. He had gone to Kashmir with his entire family.

During the attack, Nathaniel’s daughter Akanksha (35) was shot in the leg by the assailants. However, his wife Jennifer (54) and son Austin alias Goldie (25) escaped unharmed.

Grieving the loss of his father, Austin told reporters, “The terrorists included underage boys around 15 years old. There were at least four of them. They were taking selfies during the attack and had cameras mounted on their heads.” He revealed that the terrorists asked his father and others present at the spot about their religious identity before shooting them. To confirm if someone was Muslim or non-Muslim, they were asked to recite the ‘kalma’ (Islamic declaration of faith), the 25-year-old added.

Austin maintained that if someone recited the ‘kalma’ on the terrorists’ instruction, they were later forced to strip.

“I saw the terrorists shoot six people right in front of me,” he said, describing the horrific incident.

Asked what he expects from the government now, the young man replied, “I only want a heavy deployment of police and Army personnel at that place (Baisaran) because it receives the highest number of tourists.” Meanwhile, Sushil Nathaniel was buried at Juna Indore Catholic Cemetery. His wife Jennifer, overwhelmed by grief, fainted repeatedly during the last rites of her husband and was supported by her son Austin and other close relatives.

His injured daughter Akanksha arrived at the the cemetery on a wheelchair to bid final farewell to her father.

Madhya Pradesh minister Tulsiram Silawat and state Congress president Jitu Patwari were among prominent leaders who paid tributes to Sushil Nathaniel at the cemetery. PTI HWP LAL RSY