"Beginning Of End Of Terror": Pahalgam Victims' Families On Op Sindoor

For the family of Maharashtra-based Atul Mone, who was shot dead in front of his wife and daughter in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor spells the beginning of end of terror. When Mone's daughter found out about the strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir at 3 am, her faith in the government was reinstated, she told IANS.

Another victim was Odisha's Prashant Satpathy, whose wife told reporters that the fight against terror should continue till terrorism is not wiped out. "Ghar mein ghus kar maarna chahiye (Enter their houses and eliminate them). My husband will never come back, but no one else's sindoor should get wiped out. No one should be left fatherless," Priyadarshini Acharya said.

"I am elated because the terrorists will now understand the value of a human life and how precious it is. The sacrifice of my husband has not gone in vain," she said, maintaining that terrorists who killed innocent people in front of their families must live in fear if they, at all, have survived India's strike.

Satpathy's younger brother Jayant said he has been waiting for the "revenge". "We do not need money, but revenge for our brother's killing. We are relieved today as the government acted as expected. All the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack must be punished," he said.

Satpathy, 41, was an employee of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology. He went to Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir with his wife and son on vacation. His nine-year-old son, Tanuj, completed his last rites on April 24.

Sohini Adhikari, whose husband Bitan Adhikari was among the 26 civilians killed by terrorists in the Baisaran meadow, told NDTV, "The terror strike shows that the government took the action they had committed. I hope no one else ever has to see their husband being killed in cold blood in front of their child."

Still coping with the trauma of seeing her father being shot down in front of her children, Kerala native N Ramachandran's daughter Arathy said the strike on terror would bring some relief to the families of those who died. She said the loss they suffered cannot be compensated by anyone, but Operation Sindoor seemed like a reply from the government and women of India.

"Obviously, it is the apt name, but I don't think wiping the tears will happen. The loss, which had been inflicted, it won't be compensated. The title, 'Operation Sindoor', seems to be like a reply from the women of India through the army and the government," she said.

Arathy also said she and her family are praying for the Army. "Let all Indians see a comfort in this operation. Let Operation Sindoor bring some comfort and relief to all the families of victims, including Himanshi (Narwal)," she added. Himanshi's husband was one of those killed in the terror attack, and a picture of her sitting beside his lifeless body with a crestfallen face turned out to be the defining image of the deadly incident.