‘Please spare me, I have a child’: Bengaluru techie's final plea before Pahalgam terrorist pulled the trigger

Bharat Bhushan, was killed in the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. His wife recounted his plea for mercy before he was shot.

35-year-old Bengaluru techie Bharat Bhushan was among the 26 people killed in the April 22 terror attack at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

People pay their last respects to the mortal remains of Bharat Bhushan, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack. (PTI)

According to his wife, Dr. Sujatha Bhushan, who survived the attack along with their three-year-old child, he was shot dead while pleading with the attacker to spare him for the sake of their child, NDTV reported.

Speaking to the publication, Dr. Bhushan recounted the events that unfolded that afternoon. The family, who had arrived in Kashmir on April 18, was visiting Baisaran, a popular tourist spot, on the last leg of their trip. “We went up to Baisaran that day on pony rides and, when we reached, we took photographs and played with our child. We tried out Kashmiri costumes... then suddenly we heard lots of shots,” she said according to the report.

The gunfire began around 2.30 pm, according to eyewitnesses. Many tourists initially assumed the sounds were from an attempt to scare off animals. But as the noise drew closer, it became clear they were under attack. Tourists began running for cover in the large open meadow, but with limited places to hide, many, including the Bhushan family, took shelter behind temporary tents set up in the area.

‘Terrorist moved from tent to tent’

Dr. Bhushan said the terrorist moved from tent to tent, pulling people out, questioning them, and then shooting them. “One terrorist went to a tent about 100 feet away… he took a man out, seemed to talk to him, and shot him in the head. He did it twice more,” she said according to NDTV.

Near their own tent, she overheard a terrorist questioning another tourist: “How can you enjoy vacation when our children are suffering? Haven’t you seen the news?” The man was then shot.

When the terrorist reached their tent, Dr. Bhushan said her husband pleaded for his life. “He came to my husband... and he didn’t even speak. He just shot him. My husband was requesting him, ‘I have a child... please spare me.’ But he just shot him and left,” she said.

Dr. Bhushan and her child were not physically harmed in the incident. The terror attack is one of the deadliest since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. It prompted an all-party meeting in Delhi, where security officials briefed political leaders on the nature of the attack and the security lapses involved.