For the family of Bharath Bushan, who was killed in the Pahalgam attack, the news of the killing of the mastermind of the attack and his associates in 'Operation Mahadev' has brought a sense of relief.
Bushan was among the 26 people killed in front of their families after confirming their religious identity in Pahalgam on April 22.
Most of those killed by terrorists were tourists.
Speaking to PTI videos on Tuesday, Bushan's father Chennaveerappa said the killing of his son in the terror attack was a "very barbarous act". The killing of terrorists has definitely brought some solace to the grieving families who lost their sons.
Lauding the Modi government for its efforts, he said, "Hereafter, I think the government should ensure that no terrorists enter our land and kill innocent people... This should not happen again and the government should make sure that military personnel are posted in such areas..." He said deploying army personnel at the tourist spot could have prevented the attack and 26 precious lives could have been saved.
Calling for an end to cross-border terrorism, he said, "The government should be alert and avoid cross border terrorism...End terrorism and they have to see that Pakistan learns a lesson in this regard. Of course Modi has done a good work. He killed terrorists... he informed the whole world that we are against terrorism." Though Bushan's brother, Preetham, was relieved that the terrorists were eliminated, he lamented that nothing could bring his brother back.
"We are not going to get my brother back but I am very sure that the government and the armed forces have eliminated such evil people who would cause such kind of trauma for many other families so from that perspective, we are very happy that such kind of people who did brutal killing of innocent tourists have been eliminated," he said.
In a major breakthrough, the Army's elite para commandos on Monday gunned down Sulieman alias Asif, the alleged mastermind of the April 22 attack, along with two of his associates, in an encounter at Mulnar in Harwan area near Dachigam National Park.
The security forces launched a surprise action, codenamed 'Operation Mahadev', following a technical signal indicating the use of a satellite phone that was used by the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.
The other terrorists killed in the action have been identified as Jibran, who was allegedly involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year, and Hamza Afghani.
As many as 26 people, mostly tourists, were shot dead by terrorists at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, which prompted the armed forces to launch Operation Sindoor on May 7 against the terror infrastructure in Pakistan.