Ahmedabad, April 24 – The mortal remains of three tourists from Gujarat who were among the 26 victims killed in the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, have been brought back to their home state. According to officials, the bodies were received in Ahmedabad and Surat on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
As per agency report, the victims included Shailesh Kalathia, a resident of Surat, and Yatish Parmar along with his son Smit Parmar from Bhavnagar. Kalathia’s body was transported to Surat airport late Wednesday, while the bodies of Yatish and Smit were flown to Ahmedabad from Mumbai earlier in the day.
Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi paid floral tributes to the deceased at Ahmedabad airport. The remains of Yatish and Smit Parmar were later taken to their hometown of Bhavnagar. At Surat airport, Union Minister C R Patil and other dignitaries were present to receive the body of Kalathia.
Kalathia’s wife and their two children, who survived the attack, were also flown back to Surat on the same flight. Officials confirmed that Kalathia’s father, Himmatbhai, who resides in Amreli district, had already reached Surat to be with the family.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reached Bhavnagar ahead of the funeral and is expected to attend the last rites of Yatish and Smit Parmar on Thursday. Minister Harsh Sanghavi will attend Kalathia’s funeral in Surat.
Kalathia, a resident of Chikuwadi area in Surat, had relocated to Mumbai four years ago due to work and had travelled to Kashmir with his family for a vacation. Yatish and Smit Parmar were part of a 19-member group from Bhavnagar that had gone to attend religious discourses by spiritual leader Morari Bapu in Srinagar on April 16.
