Pahalgam terror attack: Calls for justice reverberate as Maharashtra mourns for 3 of family

THANE: The carnage in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam plunged the suburb of Dombivli into mourning on Wednesday as bodies of three victims, all members of the same family, shot by militants were brought back.

Thousands gathered at Bhagshala ground to show their solidarity as coffins carrying the bodies of Sanjay Lele (52), Atul Mone (44) and Hemant Joshi (43), landed in the city. The trio who had travelled to Kashmir with their families for summer holidays, were among the 28 tourists killed.

Hemant and Atul were cousins of Sanjay Lele's wife, Kavita. They lived within a kilometre of each other in Dombivli east. Lele's son Harshal, 20, also suffered a bullet injury on his finger in the attack.

CM Devendra Fadnavis who was present at the condolence meeting, met the families of the deceased. Slogans of "Pakistan Murdabad" and calls for action against the terrorists were raised at Bhagshala ground. A bandh has been declared in the suburb on Thursday as a mark of respect.
As bodies of the three men killed in the attack at Pahalgam, landed in Dombivli, their shell-shocked friends and family recalled that the fateful trip to Kashmir was a much-anticipated one for all three families.
Sanjay Lele's neighbours said his wife Kavita suffered a stroke 13 years ago. During the long period of recovery, the family had not undertaken a single trip. In the holidays this year, with friends Atul Mone and Hemant Joshi's children's completing their 10th and 12th exams, all three were keen to celebrate with a visit to Kashmir. Lele, Mone and Joshi along with their wives and three children left for Ahmedabad on Sunday by train, from where they took a flight to Kashmir.
On Tuesday, the families set off for an outing in Pahalgam which turned their lives upside down. From complete strangers to close relatives, everyone seemed affected by the tragedy as people from across the township gathered at Bhagshala ground to pay tribute to the three men.
There was unanimous condemnation as one and all demanded action against the militants. Sanjay Lele's neighbour, Ramesh Amritkar, told TOI that Lele, a private sector accountant, had been unable to travel far for many years due to his wife's health. On Sunday, when he left the house for what was proposed to be a one-week holiday, he asked Amritkar to keep a watch in his absence. Usha Amritkar said when they heard news of the attack, they were worried. Later, they received information from relatives that Lele had died.
Lele's friend, Praveen Raul, a newspaper agent, said he will be remembered fondly. He said Lele was called the ‘Sachin Tendulkar' of his area because he batted well and had a style that resembled Tendulkar's.
Hemant Joshi and his wife Monika were both private sector employees. His son Dhruv had recently appeared for class 10 exams. The third victim, Atul Mone, a section engineer in Central Railway's Parel workshop, was the sole breadwinner in his family. His wife, Anushka, is a homemaker while their daughter, Richa, completed her 12th this year. The family was excited about the Kashmir trip as her exams had just ended. Mone's sister-in-law, Jayshree, told TOI that her family received a message from Lele's mobile saying her brother-in-law was no more. When they tried to call, no one picked up. They then called the toll-free number opened by the central govt, which confirmed that all three were killed by terrorists.
Jayshree said the terrorists first shot Joshi, then Lele, and finally Mone after identifying them by their faith.
Joshi's neighbour, Dr G N Pachpande, said after learning about the attack in Pahalgam, he had tried to call Hemant to inquire about his well-being. But he could not get through. When he called the helpline, he received confirmation that Hemant had died in the firing.
On Tuesday night, Lele's relative and local Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Kadam informed local MP, Shrikant Shinde, about the casualties. Shinde, along with his personal assistant, Abhijeet Darekar, made arrangements for Kadam and some relatives of the families to travel to Kashmir on Wednesday. In Srinagar, they claimed the bodies from the hospital and brought them back along with the survivors by flight.
Lele's 20-year-old son Harshal had calmly handled the situation until then. He had accompanied his injured father and two relatives to the hospital where they died. He remained in the hospital while the post-mortems were conducted. To spare his mother and the other women the grief, he did not inform them about the deaths until Wednesday when their relatives reached Srinagar.
The three women received news of the passing of their husbands from Harshal nearly 15 hours later when another elderly member of the family arrived to console them.
Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) had made arrangements to keep the bodies at Bhagshala Maidan to allow the public to pay their respects. As news of the deaths spread, protests were organised at different places in Kalyan and Dombivli to condemn the attack.
One protest was held by students and teachers at Tilak Nagar School in Dombivli East, another by employees of the Dombivli Nagrik Sahakari Bank outside the bank. Shiv Sena, under the leadership of Kalyan city president Ravi Patil, also held a demonstration against the genocide of Hindus in Kashmir.