VIDEO: Kashmiris treated us like family, says Pahalgam attack victim's daughter

Arathi R Menon, daughter of N. Ramachandran, the Keralite killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, on Thursday said her Kashmiri drivers, Musafir and Sameer, treated her like a sister and stood by her in the most traumatic moments of her life. Arathi survived the gruesome massacre on Tuesday along with her mother and eight-year-old twin sons. She recounted the horror a day after her father's mortal remains were brought back to Kochi, their hometown.

"Musafir and Sameer stood by my side like brothers. They took me to the mortuary for identification and stayed with me till 3 am. When the identification didn't happen that night, they picked me up again at 6 am," Arathi said.

"At the airport, I told them I had gained two brothers from Kashmir, and that Allah would bless them," she told media persons here on Thursday.

Arathi was all praise for both government officials and local people in Kashmir 'who extended immense support'. "A hotel even allowed us to stay, although we hadn't checked in there," she said. Her father, Ramachandran, was among the 26 people shot dead by terrorists at a meadow in Baisaran near Pahalgam in Kashmir valley on Tuesday.

"We were at the grassland amid a vast forest. A terrorist came out and fired a round leaving us in a frozen state. We were all ordered to lie down and we did so.

The tourists were in different groups and we saw the terrorist going to each one and asking something and shooting at some", recalled Arathi. "One of the terrorists shot my father after asking him something. I knew that my father was dead and there was no point in trying to cover his wound to stop the bleeding. I ran away from there with my children," she said.

Arathi said she had no clue as to how to reach the main road, and she chose to follow the footprints of the ponies used to carry the tourists up and down the hills.

"The ponies were also running, and earlier a guide had told me they know the paths very well. I told my kids, let's follow the ponies' footprints. I cannot remember how long we ran. After a point, my phone got a signal and I could call our driver. When I saw military personnel running up, I felt a bit relieved as I knew we were close to the road," she said. Arathi said she saw only two terrorists, and she did not know how many more were there.

Arathi's mother, Sheela, had chosen not to trek the hills as she had undergone two angioplasties. Arathi said she managed not to let her mother know about Ramachandran's death until they were back in Kochi.

A Gulf returnee, Ramachandran lived in Edappally with his wife and daughter. His body was flown to Kochi by 8 pm Wednesday and taken to the mortuary of a private hospital. The mortal remains will be kept for public homage at Changampuzha Park on Friday from 7.30 am to 9.30 am. Final rituals will follow at his residence, and the cremation will take place at Edappally at 11 am, according to family sources.

On Thursday Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that 575 Keralites remain in Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack. He assured that measures are being taken to provide travel, medical assistance, and food to those in need. The Chief Minister's office released a statement detailing arrangements, including ticket bookings for onward travel, for those arriving in Delhi from Kashmir.