Bhubaneswar: A family vacation for the Satpathys from Odisha turned into a tragedy on Tuesday afternoon, moments after they had completed a zipline ride in Pahalgam.
Prasant Satpathy (43), an accounts assistant at the Skill Development Centre of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Balasore, had travelled to Kashmir with his wife Priyadarshini and their 9-year-old son Tanuj on April 19. Pahalgam was their final stop before their scheduled return to Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
He was posing for a photo when a bullet struck him in the head. Priyadarshini and Tanuj managed to escape the scene unharmed.
“The firing was sudden and unexpected. When I saw my husband he was still breathing and could recognise me till he passed out. An hour later, the local police informed me that he was dead and they are taking his body for post-mortem. My world has come crashing down,” said Priyadarshini.
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Just hours before the terrorist attack, Prasant had shared videos and photos of their holiday on social media.
Prasant was the youngest of three brothers in a joint family in his native village of Ishani, in Balasore district. “I felt ground slipping below my feet. I had spoken to him in the morning. He was extremely close to me,” said Susanta, Prasant ‘s elder brother.
His co-worker from Bhubaneswar’s CIPET recalled Prasant as a person who “handled complex financial records with a smile.”
Prasant’s childhood friend Amar Kumar Das said both of them were supposed to go to Kashmir, but he dropped out as his leaves were not approved. “On Tuesday morning, he shared some video and photos of their tour but in the afternoon I heard the news of his death. I cannot believe that he is dead,” he said.
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Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said he is coordinating with authorities to bring Prasant’s body home by late Wednesday evening.
According to the Office of the Resident Commissioner of Odisha in New Delhi, Prasant’s body would arrive in Delhi from Srinagar at 2.35 pm after which it would reach Bhubaneswar on a late evening flight, reaching around 9.45 pm.
Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Manas Dutta and Gobind Das visited Prasant’s home on Wednesday to offer their condolences, while BJP lawmaker from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi, met Prasant’s wife and child in Kashmir.