New Delhi:
Forty-year-old TCS techie Bitan Adhikary, who worked and lived in Florida, came down to his Kolkata home on April 8 to spend time with his wife Sohini and their three-year-old son, who had been living in Kolkata for the past two years. They travelled to Kashmir last week and were to return on Thursday. Last afternoon, Bitan was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, along with at least 25 others, in one of the most heinous attacks ever in the Valley. His wife and son are safe and the government is trying to bring them home.
West Bengal Chief Minister spoke to Bitan’s wife over the phone and assured her that her government is with her. “My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the devastating terrorist attack on the tourists in Jammu and Kashmir today. One of the victims, Sri Bitan Adhikari, is from West Bengal. I have talked with his wife over phone. Though no words are enough to console her in this hour of grief, I have assured her that my government is taking all steps to bring back his mortal remains to his house at Kolkata,” she said in a post on X.
My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the devastating terrorist attack on the tourists in Jammu and Kashmir today.
One of the victims, Sri Bitan Adhikari, is from West Bengal. I have talked with his wife over phone. Though no words are enough to console her in…
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 22, 2025
Bitan’s elderly father, crushed by his son’s loss, told Anandabazar Patrika, “He wanted to take all of us along. But I told him to go with my daughter-in-law. I spoke to him today as well, even in the afternoon. What happened after that,” he said.
Bitan’s brother said, “I spoke to my younger brother this morning. He told me that once he returned from Kashmir, we would plan an extended holiday nearby. We had no idea it would be the last time we would speak.”
Bengal minister Aroop Biswas met the family members at their Kolkata home. “The state Home Department and the Resident Commissioner in New Delhi are in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure that the body is brought back as soon as possible,” he said.
At least 26 people, including two foreign nationals, were shot dead in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot, last afternoon. This attack on civilians is the most heinous terror strike in the recent past. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was visiting Saudi Arabia, cut short his trip and returned today. Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Srinagar last night and met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Currently, security forces are conducting a search operation in the area.
