Indore, Apr 23 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday said that terrorists who targeted tourists in Pahalgam, asked an LIC manager from Indore belonging to the Christian community, to recite the ‘Kalma’ before shooting him dead.

Sushil Nathaniel (58), a resident of Indore, was asked by the attackers to recite Kalma, a declaration of faith that forms the core beliefs of Muslims.

Nathaniel’s body was brought to Indore from Kashmir on Wednesday night. CM Yadav paid tributes to him at Indore’s Devi Ahilyabai Holkar airport, where he consoled the victim’s grieving family members.

At least 26 people were killed and many others injured in the terrorist attack on Tuesday in Baisaran, a major tourist spot in Pahalgam, south Kashmir, popularly known as ‘Mini Switzerland’. Most of the deceased were tourists, including Nathaniel.

Nathaniel was posted as a manager of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in Alirajpur, about 200 km from Indore.

Talking to reporters after paying floral tributes to the deceased, CM Yadav said, “Nathaniel’s wife has told me that before shooting her husband, the terrorists asked him to recite Kalma. To this, Nathaniel replied that he belonged to the Christian community and he did not know how to recite Kalma.” He asserted that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre would definitely avenge the “cowardly terrorists” involved in the Pahalgam attack.

The chief minister said, “I am with the bereaved family of Nathaniel in this hour of grief. The whole country is united against the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.” BJP state unit president VD Sharma and the State’s Water Resources Minister Tulsi Silawat were among the leaders who paid tribute to Nathaniel at the Indore airport.

The terrorists had shot Nathaniel’s daughter Akanksha (35) in the leg and injured her. At the time of the terror attack, the LIC officer was accompanied by his wife Jennifer (54) and their son Austin alias Goldie (25). The mother and son were not hurt by the attackers.

When Nathaniel’s body was brought out of the local airport, a sombre atmosphere was palpable. Grieving relatives embraced Nathaniel’s wife and son and tried to console them.

Nathaniel’s injured daughter was brought out of the airport on a wheelchair.

The family’s trip to have a joyful festive time together turned into a tragedy and nothing can be more saddening than this, the victim’s relatives said earlier in the day.

Nathaniel’s cousin Sanjay Kumrawat told PTI that the wife and the son of the deceased told them that terrorists asked Sushil’s name and forced him to kneel down, they then asked him to recite the Kalma When Sushil said that he could not recite Kalma, the terrorists shot him dead.

When Nathaniel’s daughter Akanksha (35) ran towards him after being scared seeing bullets fired at her father, the terrorists shot her in the leg, he said.

“Strictest action should be taken against the terrorists who killed 26 innocent people by carrying out the cowardly attack in Kashmir so that it sets an example for the whole world,” Kumrawat said.

The deceased’s cousin sister Indu Dawar also claimed that according to their family members present at the incident spot, terrorists shot Sushil Nathaniel after asking him about his religious identity.

“Sushil had gone to Kashmir with his family. We want justice and the killers should be given the strictest punishment,” she said.

Another relative of Nathaniel, Gemma Vikas, said the LIC officer killed in the terror attack had gone to Kashmir with his family on the occasion of Easter.

“Nothing is more saddening than the fact that the happiness of tourists who went on a festive trip turned into mourning. We want the government to hunt down and eliminate the terrorists immediately,” she said.

Indore Collector Ashish Singh reached out to Nathaniel’s relatives and assured them of all possible help from the state government. PTI HWP ADU MAS GK NP