Did terrorists plan to carry out Pahalgam attack the previous day? Tourist suggests suspects abandoned plan due to 'less crowd'
TOPSHOT - Security personnel inspect the site in the aftermath of an attack as food stall chairs lie empty in Pahalgam, about 90kms (55 miles) from Srinagar on April 23, 2025. Indian security forces in Kashmir carried out a major manhunt on April 23, a day after gunmen opened fire on tourists killing 26 people in the region's deadliest attack on civilians since 2000. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
More than a week after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, an eyewitness account has suggested that the terrorists plotted carry out the massacre in the valley on April 21. However, they abandoned the plan due to "less crowd".
Adarsh Raut, who hails from Maharashtra's Jalna, said he wrote to the NIA a detailed account of the incident via email.
Recalling the experience, he said that one of the suspects asked him about his religion when he was having food at a Maggi stall in Baisaran Valley the day before the attack.
"Hindu ho kya? You don't look like your are from Kashmir," Raut told news agency PTI. He recalled that he had stopped at the Maggi stall after horse-riding when the suspect approached him.
Raut added that he overheard the suspect telling his accomplice, "There's less crowd today."
Though Raut was irked by the disturbing interaction with the suspect, he understood the gravity of the situation only after coming to know about the terrorist attack the next day. A total of 26 people were killed in the attack on April 22.
"After I saw the sketches released by the NIA, I connected the dots," said Raut.
He said he has emailed every detail that he could remember to the NIA. "I have also mentioned that I could not initially pay the Maggi stall owner due to network issues. I took his phone number and paid him once I came down from the hill,” he said.
India