SBI Employee Killed in Pahalgam Terror Attack Just Before Birthday

A vacation trip became a tragedy as Shaileshbhai Kalathiya, a 43-year-old State Bank of India (SBI) official stationed in Mumbai, was killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, a day before his birthday on April 23.

Shaileshbhai, a native of Chikuvadi in Surat, had gone on a vacation to Kashmir along with his wife, children, and his cousin when unidentified gunmen fired indiscriminately at a favourite tourist spot of south Kashmir's Pahalgam. The incident killed at least 26 individuals, a majority of whom were tourists, and left several injured.

Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey confirmed Shaileshbhai’s death and assured that the rest of his family members are safe and receiving complete support from the authorities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi organized a high-level meeting at Delhi airport with NSA Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri as soon as he arrived from Saudi Arabia after shortening his visit on account of the seriousness of the incident.

Also Read: Kashmir Pahalgam Attack: Terrorists Ask Religion, Then Open Fire in Pahalgam

Gujarati tourists hurt

Three Gujarat tourists were hurt in the attack. One of them was Vinod Bhatt, a Bhavnagar resident who was injured on the hand but is now stable and recovering at GMC Anantnag.

As per Bhavnagar District Collector Manish Kumar Bansal, Bhatt was among a group of 20 tourists travelling to Kashmir. The other two injured Gujarati tourists are similarly stable and under treatment at GMC Anantnag.

The attack has raised shockwaves nationally, with people taking to social media to call for justice as well as demand action from the central government, which moved at lightning speed afterwards.