Mumbai: When the bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims was attacked in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday evening, little did anyone imagine that the impact would be so close home. Usha Sonkar (56) and Nirmala Thakur (61), residents of Ashagad village in Dahanu, were among the seven dead.
Thakur and Sonkar were part of a 15-member group that left for Gujarat on July 2. “The group reached Umargaon from where they left for the yatra,” said Dinesh Goswami, the tour operator. “Every year, some of these women go on a trip.”
Pradeep Thakur, son of Nirmala Thakur, said, “Last year, my mother went to Ujjain.” Having visited one ‘tirthsthal’, Thakur had been eagerly waiting for the trip this year. “For the last one year, my mother had been speaking a lot about it,” he said.
Thakur is survived by her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and her two grandchildren.
Mohanlal Sonkar, husband of Usha Sonkar, said his wife had called him on Monday. “She sounded very happy as this was her first trip to Amarnath. But I wasn’t aware that the call would turn out to be the last one from her,” said the 58-year-old fruitseller from Dahanu. Sonkar is survived by her husband, son, daughter, and daughter-in-law.
Others from Dahanu, who were on the trip, are Pallavi Abhyankar, Yashwant Dongre, Yogita Dongre, Prakash Vajani, Bhagyamanti Thakur, Pushpa Gosavi, Urjila Dongre and Vishwanath. They are being treated at local hospitals for minor injuries.
As gunshots rang out in the darkness, Ms. Abhyankar’s (55) first thought was that firecrackers were going off near the bus. “It was only a few moments later that I realised the horror as I saw my fellow passengers being hit by bullets,” she said.
The homemaker, who also runs music classes, said the bus driver’s presence of mind saved many lives. “Had it not been for the driver, the toll would have been more.” The driver sped away amid the firing and reached a safe distance.
The bus had over 50 pilgrims from Gujarat and Maharashtra, including 11 from Dahanu. Most of them were asleep when the vehicle was attacked. “Most of those who died or were injured were sitting on the right side.” Ms. Abhyankar is now on her way to Dahanu.
Santosh Thakur, son of Bhagyabani Thakur, said he came to know on Monday night that his mother was injured. “This morning, my mother informed me that she is fine. She sustained a bullet injury on her hand,” said Santosh, who is a relative of Nirmala Thakur.
The survivors flew out of Srinagar on Tuesday by a special plane of the Indian Air Force and landed in Surat at around 1.30 p.m.
( With PTI inputs )
