A young man from Jalna city in Maharashtra, Adarsh Raut, who recently returned from a trip to Kashmir, has claimed that he met one of the suspected terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack just a day before the incident.
Raut said that on April 21, while he was at a food stall in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, a man came up to him and asked, “Are you Hindu? You don’t look like you’re from Kashmir.” The man was with another person and also said to his companion, “There’s less crowd today.”

The next day, on April 22, terrorists opened fire on a crowd in the area, killing 26 people, most of them tourists, and injuring several others. A few days after the attack, security agencies released sketches of the suspects. Raut said that one of the sketches matched the man who had spoken to him at the food stall.

The man from Jalna said he felt a little uneasy after the conversation but didn’t think much of it at the time. It was only the next day when 26 tourists were shot and killed in the same area-that he realized how serious it was.
"After I saw the sketches shared by the NIA (National Investigation Agency), I put the pieces together," he said. Raut added that he has emailed the NIA and shared all the details of what happened during his trip to Kashmir.

"I’ve written down everything I could remember," Raut said. "I even mentioned that I couldn’t pay the Maggi stall owner at first because of network issues. I took his phone number and paid him later after coming down from the hill." He also said that he hasn’t heard back from the NIA yet, but added, "I’m ready to help them in any way if they contact me."

About the terror attack

On April 22, 2025, terrorists opened fire on tourists in Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people and injuring several others. The terrorists are believed to be from Pakistan-based groups. After the attack, security forces began a search operation, and sketches of three suspects were released. The incident raised serious concerns about tourist safety in the region.