15-year-old boys among the attackers, says Pahalgam victim’s son

Austen Nathaniel recounts Pahalgam terror attack where 15-year-old boys shot his father, leaving family traumatized in Indore.

Boys around 15 years old with cameras mounted over their heads and clicking selfies were among the attackers, says Austen Nathaniel as he deals with the trauma of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed his father, Sushil Nathaniel.

Sushil, 58, a resident of Indore and a Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) employee, was among the 26 civilians shot dead by terrorists at Baisaran valley in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. His son Austen, 27, daughter Akanksha, 32, and wife Jennifer, 54, who survived the tragedy came back to Indore on Wednesday night.

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Mr. Austen, who spoke to The Hindu after his father’s last rites on Thursday, says two boys around 15 years of age and carrying guns had approached his parents. 

“I was a little behind and my parents were going to use the washroom when those boys approached them and asked my dad to recite Kalma. When he said he was an Isai (Christian), they yelled saying ‘what Isai! Falisteen, Failsteen’ and shot him,” he says, adding that his father had pushed Ms. Jennifer aside to safety. 

“When she regained consciousness and saw my father lying dead, she ran screaming ‘what is Kalma? they shot him’,” he recalls, saying that her sister who was also at a distance ran towards Ms. Jennifer and injured her leg in a fall. 

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