 "Pahalgam: Who is Rishi Bhatt, the ziplining tourist who unknowingly shot the attack on his phone?")
The Gujarat tourist whose zipline video from the Pahalgam terror attack has gone viral is now sharing chilling first-hand details of what unfolded that day.
Rishi Bhatt, a resident of Ahmedabad, was vacationing in the serene Baisaran valley with his wife and 11-year-old son when the peaceful meadow was shattered by gunfire. A group of terrorists began indiscriminately opening fire at the tourists, killing 26 people.
Speaking to India Today, Bhatt made a disturbing claim about what triggered the attack.
He alleged that the zipline operator shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times, following which the terrorists immediately began spraying bullets. The man, identified as Muzammil, has reportedly been detained by the National Investigative Agency (NIA), The Times of India reported.
The 53-second clip, shot with a selfie stick, captured the chaos from mid-air. As Bhatt zipped through the valley, gunshots echoed in the background. The camera panned across the meadow, showing terrified people fleeing the scene. One of them falls to the ground, apparently hit by a bullet, as the panic unfolds below.
The video, which has now been widely shared across news platforms and social media, shows Bhatt being an unexpected witness to one of the deadliest terror incidents in Kashmir in recent years. Here’s a closer look at his story
‘20 seconds into the zipline, I realised something was wrong’
Recalling the terrifying day of the attack, Bhatt described how what started as a family holiday in Kashmir quickly turned into a nightmare.
“We were travelling to Kashmir and Pahalgam,” Bhatt told India Today. “My wife, son, and four others had already crossed the zipline safely. But just as it was my turn, the operator chanted ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times—and then the firing started.”
At first, Bhatt didn’t quite register what was happening. But within 15–20 seconds, it became clear.
“You can see in my video a man falling down,” he said. “At that moment, I realised something was wrong.”
Panicked, Bhatt said he stopped himself mid-air, jumped and rushed to find his family. “I was only thinking about saving my life and my family’s life,” he said.
What followed was even more horrifying.
Bhatt claimed that the terrorists were picking out tourists based on their religion.
“Just beside my wife were two couples. The terrorist asked them their names and religion, and then shot them. Just because I was on the ropeway, my life was saved. If I had been on the ground, I don’t know what would have happened,” he said.
He and his family ran and hid in a grove nearby, where a few other tourists had also taken refuge.
“When the firing paused after 8–10 minutes, we started running toward the main gate,” he told ANI. “Then the firing started again, and 4–5 people were shot. Around 15–16 tourists were shot in front of us.”
#WATCH | #PahalgamTerroristAttack | In a viral video, a tourist was seen ziplining when terrorists suddenly started firing. The tourist from Gujarat's Ahmedabad, Rishi Bhatt, recalls the incident.
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2025
"...Firing started when I was ziplining...I did not realise this for around 20… pic.twitter.com/TzauoM7kUe
Eventually, they managed to escape once the gunfire subsided.
Bhatt said the attackers were dressed in stolen uniforms from security forces. “While running, I saw two security guards shot dead and stripped of their clothes,” he recalled.
He also claimed that locals fled the scene when the attack started. “The locals were the first to run away. There was no one to help. But honestly, when I ran from the forest, within 18 minutes, the Army arrived and secured us.”
“I witnessed the attack from 25 to 30 feet away,” Bhatt added. “But my wife saw the terrorists firing from just six feet.”
India’s response to the attack
Soon after the massacre, The Resistance Front —a known proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba—initially claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the group later renounced the claim.
India, however, wasted no time in hitting back diplomatically. New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, expelled Pakistani diplomats, sealed off the Attari-Wagah border , and ordered all Pakistani nationals in the country to leave within a specified deadline.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stern warning to those behind the bloodshed. Speaking at a rally in Bihar, he said, “India will identify, track and punish every terrorist, their handlers and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. They will be punished beyond their imagination.”
The brutal killing of 26 civilians sparked widespread outrage, not just in India but globally. Indian communities around the world have been staging protests outside Pakistani consulates, demanding accountability and justice for the victims.
Back home, PM Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to assess the situation. Held at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, the tri-services chiefs, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
With input from agencies
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