Bhubaneswar: Odisha native Prasant Kumar Satpathy, who had gone to Jammu & Kashmir on a vacation with his wife and child, died in the terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday. The 41-year-old Prasant, a resident of Isani village under Sarang panchayat in Balasore district, was fatally shot in the head during the terror attack, his wife Priyadarshini said.
Prasant, who was an accountant at the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) in Balasore, had gone to Kashmir with his wife and nine-year-old son on April 19.
Another Odisha native, Shashi Kumari (65), wife of Ranjit Kumar, is among the injured. She has been admitted in Govt Medical College, Anantnag, a govt statement said.
According to Priyadarshini, they had completed a ropeway ride and were visiting a nearby restaurant when the terrorists struck. “My husband fell before me with blood flowing from his head. I went out to seek help, and when I returned, army personnel, who had already arrived at the site, were rushing him to the hospital,” recounted Priyadarshini.
Strongly condemning the violence, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked Odisha’s chief resident commissioner in Delhi to take steps to ensure the return of Prasant’s mortal remains back home. The chief minister also expressed deep sorrow for the deceased tourists, terming today’s incident as a heinous and brutal act.
Upon learning about the incident, Prasant’s relatives in Balasore frantically tried to contact the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s helpline numbers. Anantnag police station later confirmed Prasant’s death, informing that his body had been transferred to the cantonment in Srinagar.
Laxmidhar Swain, sarpanch of Sarang, said Prasant used to stay in a joint family with his parents and three brothers. Local authorities are coordinating with Jammu & Kashmir officials to facilitate the return of Prasant’s body to his hometown.