Reasi Terror Attack: Survivor says 'their goal was to kill everybody'

Bus plunged in the gorge after terrorists opened fire. Pic/PTI

Neelam Gupta, one of the 41 injured people in the Reasi terror attack, recalling the June 9 incident, said, terrorists kept firing at the bus even after it fell into the gorge.

The 53-seater bus veered off the road due to indiscriminate firing by the terrorists and fell into the gorge near Teryath village in the Poni. Nine people were killed in the attack on the vehicle. The pilgrims in the bus were on their way from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra.

The pilgrims were from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Neelam was in the bus along with her husband Devi Prasad Gupta, son Prince, daughter Palak, sister Bittan, relative Dinesh Gupta and friend Deepak Kumar Rai. According to news agency PTI, the family is said to have returned home in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district on Thursday night after undergoing treatment in Jammu.

Besides them, Rajesh Gupta, Neelam's brother, was one of the 41 injured people in Reasi terror attack. He is also one of the eight people from the Gonda district. He is said to be admitted at the Jammu hospital inspite of his critical condition, reported PTI.

The terrorists were targeting the bus' driver and the vehicle overturned and fell into the gorge, said Devi Prasad Gupta, a resident of Bhikharipur village.

He added, "We left for Jammu on June 4 by train. Our plan included visiting the Maa Vaishno Devi shrine on June 9, the day our bus was attacked."

Neelam Gupta said that, the attackers continued to fire even after the bus fell into the gorge. She added that it seemed as though their goal was to kill every passenger on the bus.

Neelam Gupta said even after the bus fell into the gorge, the terrorists kept firing. It seemed that their target was to kill everybody on the bus, she said.

The passengers were scared and lay low to avoid being hit by bullets, she said and added that "after sometime, when the firing stopped and we were sure the terrorists left, those injured were slowly taken out from the bus by locals".

Neelam Gupta recalled, after a while, security officers also showed up, and ambulances were used to transport the injured to the hospital. She had a facture in her left leg due to the injuries.

Devi Prasad Gupta reported that his hands and left ribcage continue to hurt. "The administrative and police teams of Gonda district reached Jammu to assist us and we are thankful to them," he said.