Chandigarh, Apr 23 (PTI) Married just a few days ago, 26-year-old Indian Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal was holidaying with his wife in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam when terrorists shot him dead.

Hailing from Bhusli village in Karnal district, Narwal’s family was presently living in Karnal city.

The Indian Navy also confirmed Narwal’s death in the terror attack. “Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, #CNS, and all Personnel of the Indian Navy are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Lt Vinay Narwal who fell to the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family during this moment of unimaginable grief.

“The #IndianNavy also stands in solemn solidarity with all others that lost their lives in this heinous act of violence.Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families and we pray for the swift recovery of those injured,” the Navy said in a post on X.

Narwal’s neighbour Naresh Bansal said the officer had recently got married.

“After the marriage, everyone was celebrating and in a happy mood. And now suddenly this sad news comes,” he said about the terror attack incident.

Another neighbour Seema recalled that there were grand celebrations at his home and not just the Narwal family, but the entire neighbourhood was celebrating after the wedding.

She told reporters in Karnal that Narwal did his engineering and later cleared the exams to became an officer in the Indian Navy.

“They were planning a honeymoon in Switzerland, but decided to go to Kashmir instead taking into account the leave he had…We can’t imagine what his family is going through,” she said.

“….We saw videos where a girl was crying and pleading with the terrorists to kill her too but they told her they were sparing her so that she can tell (PM Narendra) Modi what happened,” she said without elaborating.

At least 26 persons — mostly tourists — were killed by terrorists on Tuesday at the Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam in one of the worst terror attacks on civilians in Kashmir in the past many years. PTI SUN VSD DV DV