'My name is Bharath': Pahalgam terrorists shot 35-year-old Bengaluru techie in head in front of wife, son; mother-in-law says...

Bharath Bhushan, a 35-year-old techie from Bengaluru, was among the 26 civilians who were killed in the terror attack that gripped Pahalgam on Tuesday. When armed terrorists in Pahalgam asked for his name before shooting him, he proudly said: "My name is Bharath." 

Bhushan was shot in the head in front of his wife Dr Sujatha and their 3-year-old son. Dr Sujatha is a paediatrician at the Ramaiah Hospital. When the family was confronted by terrorists, Bhushan was carrying his son and Sujatha stood nearby. 

The terrorists first asked Bhushan to hand over the child to Sujatha and then asked him his name. Upon hearing his name, they asked whether he was Hindu or Muslim. The 35-year old techie was shot dead when he replied 'Hindu'. 

Meanwhile, the techie's father said that he came to know about his son's death on Wednesday morning.

"I read about it in a Kannada newspaper during my morning walk. My legs gave way. I didn't know what to do. My family had kept it a secret from me and my wife," he told The Times of India.

Hours before he was shot dead, Bharath called his father from Kashmir and showed them the scenic views and told that he, along with his wife and son, were headed to Pahalgam. 

Around 7pm on Tuesday, his elder son Preetham told the family that Bharath was injured in Pahalgam and that he was flying to Kashmir to bring him back.

"Sujatha's brother also went. They said it wasn't serious, and they'd bring him home. The flight was originally scheduled to leave at 11 am, but they finally flew out at 2 am," the techie's father added. 

Bhushan's mother-in-law recalled speaking to her daughter and said the terrorists asked victims if they were Hindu and kept shooting till they fell to the ground. 

"They apparently asked if you were Hindu and then shot them, they were shot because they were Hindus, they shot my son-in-law...They didn't shoot women and children, but shot the men in the head. They kept shooting till they fell down," she said.

She further said that since Sujatha is a doctor, she realised he was dead and then took the mobile and purse and ran. She spoke to her daughter at around 2:45 pm on Tuesday. 

Sujatha was taken by the Indian Army to safe place, as per Bhushan's mother-in-law.