00:00The body of N. Ramachandran, the 65-year-old Kochi resident who was tragically killed in the
00:08Pahalgam terror attack, has finally been brought home. His return marks a somber moment for Kerala
00:14as family, friends and the community gather to pay their last respects to a man whose life was
00:21cut short during a family vacation in Kashmir.
00:30N. Ramachandran, a native of Ida Palli in Kochi, was among the 26 innocent tourists killed
00:53in the brutal terrorist attack at Pahalgam in Jagnu in Kashmir. The attack occurred on Tuesday
00:59afternoon as Ramachandran, accompanied by his daughter Arathi and twin grandsons, was enjoying
01:05a walk on the scenic Baisaran meadow. His wife, Sheila, who had recently undergone angioplasty,
01:12stayed back at the hotel, while Ramachandran set out for sightseeing with his family.
01:18The terrorists, disguised in fatigues, opened fire indiscriminately on tourists, turning a peaceful
01:25holiday into a nightmare. In a harrowing ordeal, Arathi managed to escape with her children,
01:32but witnessed her father being gunned down before her eyes. The news of the tragedy was conveyed
01:38to the family by Arathi herself, who called relatives from Kashmir immediately after the incident.
01:45Ramachandran's body was initially shifted to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar, where formalities were completed
01:51before being flown to Kochi. His son, Arvind Menon, who works in Bengaluru, traveled to Srinagar to
01:59facilitate the process. The mortal remains arrived in Kochi, where the community gathered for public
02:05homage at Changapuza Park, before the final rides at Shantikavidam Crematorium.
02:10My dad, mom, my sister and eight-year-old twin sons of my sister, four of them traveled to
02:21Kashmir for tourism on 21st. And on 22nd afternoon is when my sister calls me and says that there has
02:30been a terror attack. And when I inquired that everyone is safe, I heard the news from her that
02:37my dad has been killed in front of my sister and in front of the kids. They heard the gunshot while
02:46they were on a horse ride. They jumped out of the house and then tried to escape. And they crawled
02:53through a fence. And once they crawled through the fence thinking it is safe, they found another guy,
02:58another terrorist, asking them to kneel down or be on the floor. Since they didn't understand
03:07what was the instructions, he shot another guy. And then he asked them to recite Kalima,
03:14which is a Muslim Islamic verse. And since they didn't understand what was the ask,
03:21he immediately shot him on the head and he died on the spot.
03:25Ramachandran was a Gulf returnee having worked in Qatar and the UAE
03:30for several years before returning to Kochi with his wife four years ago.
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