The phone hasn’t stopped ringing for Santosh Jagdale, who was at the spot of Tuesday’s horrific Pahalgam terror attack, an hour before terrorists mowed down at least 26 people, mostly tourists.
“I am Santosh Laxman Jagdale. My namesake Santosh Eknath Jagdale, also from Maharashtra, was killed in the attack,” the 49-year-old juice seller from Sangli told PTI.
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“After the name ‘Santosh Jagdale’ appeared in national media as one of the victims, I have been getting calls throughout the night and till this morning from my village people, kin and friends, asking about my wellbeing,” Jagdale said.
“I had gone to the spot in a car from Pahalgam. We did not prefer ponies. We were a group of four people, including myself, my wife, my friend and his wife, in the car…We left the spot of the attack an hour before the firing began, unaware that the decision to return to Pahalgam would save our lives. It was only some time after we returned to our hotel that we heard about the horrific attack,” said Jagdale, who owns a juice centre in Sangli.
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“Now I am waiting to catch the first flight home from Srinagar,” Jagdale said, adding he hasn’t been able to get flight tickets so far.
BJP MLA from Sangli, Sudhir Gadgil, told PTI that he has also been getting calls about Jagdale’s wellbeing. “Since this morning, I have been explaining to the callers that the Santosh Jagdale who died was from Pune and Santosh Jagdale from Sangli is very much alive,” Gadgil said.
Heavily armed terrorists walked out of the woods of Baisaran, a meadow atop a hill a short distance from Pahalgam Tuesday afternoon and killed the tourists.