Mysuru techie Prasanna Kumar Bhatt saves dozens during Pahalgam terror attack

The horrific terror attack at Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley on April 22 left behind chilling stories of survival and tragedy. Amid the bloodshed, the courageous actions of survivors stand out. 

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During the attack, several tourists from Karnataka were visiting Pahalgam. Among them was Prasanna Kumar Bhatt, a software engineer from Mysuru, who played a heroic role by saving 25 to 40 fellow tourists. Prasanna, along with his wife, brother and sister-in-law had entered the Baisaran valley around 2 PM. His brother, notably, is an army officer. 

Just 25 minutes after entering the valley through the main gate, gunfire erupted. Recognizing the immediate danger, Prasanna led his family to hide behind a mobile toilet located about 400 meters from the entry point. Realizing that the main gate had become a death trap, Prasanna redirected tourists away from it and towards a safer direction.

Using a pipe near a barbed-wire fence, Prasanna and his group created an escape route through the river. Despite poor mobile connectivity, his brother managed to alert the Army headquarters in Srinagar. Prasanna’s family and the other tourists remained hidden in a ditch until about 3 PM. Within 40 minutes, Indian Army helicopters arrived, and Special Forces safely evacuated them by 4 PM.