Trip to paradise turns nightmare for Tripura families: "We heard gunfire, then chaos"

What was meant to be a peaceful family trip to the picturesque valleys of Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir turned into a nightmare for several tourists, including families from Tripura, after a sudden terrorist attack targeting Hindu tourists led to the death of 28 people.

Speaking with India Today NE, Supriya Chakraborty, a bank employee who went to Srinagar to enjoy a vacation after a hectic year-end, shared his harrowing experience.

Supriya said that although he had witnessed the insurgency period in Tripura during the early '90s, which eventually subsided, he had never imagined witnessing such an incident again.

“Me, my wife, and two daughters went to Srinagar and from there we proceeded to Pahalgam. We were just ten minutes away from the spot where the incident occurred. We were on horseback, enjoying the scenic beauty, when we suddenly heard gunfire. Everything turned chaotic in a matter of minutes," he said, describing it as a horrifying experience.

Chakraborty recounted how people started screaming and running back in panic.
“It was 2:30 pm when we were en route to Pahalgam. I saw a woman crying uncontrollably and another person with bloodstains on her clothes. We rushed back to our hotel, but soon even that was declared unsafe, and everyone was asked to vacate due to security concerns. We left early this morning and headed to a nearby hotel in Srinagar. This was a very traumatizing experience for us," he told this publication.

Adding to the accounts, Manik Debnath, a resident of Teliamura in Tripura’s Khowai district, who was also vacationing with his wife, described it as one of the most disturbing experiences of their lives. "We had just finished exploring Pahalgam and were coming down when the firing started. Our driver didn’t waste a second—he quickly turned the vehicle around and took us away from the danger zone. All our plans were canceled in that instant."

Debnath described the sudden influx of security forces. "Within half an hour, the area was flooded with military vehicles, helicopters, and bomb squads. I’ve never seen such a level of security deployment in my life," he said. "We managed to leave the area and are now safe in Gulmarg, but the fear still lingers."