The North News
Chandigarh, April 24
Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, 26, had barely begun married life when tragedy struck amid the serene hills of Kashmir. He had dreamt of a honeymoon in Switzerland, but visa delays forced the newlyweds to change course. Instead, he and his wife, Himanshi, travelled to Pahalgam—a breathtaking alpine valley known as ‘mini Switzerland’ by locals. It was to be a brief escape before he resumed duty with the Indian Navy in Kochi, according to media reports.
But in the grassy meadows of Baisaran, joy turned to horror. While sharing a quiet snack in the open air, Narwal was shot dead in front of Himanshi, by terrorists in a brutal attack that left 26 dead and at least 10 injured. “He was standing beside me while I was eating bhelpuri,” Himanshi later recalled in a viral video, her voice trembling. “A man walked up and shot him. He said he wasn’t a Muslim before pulling the trigger,” the News outlet The Indian Express reported.
The attack has shaken the nation. But for Narwal’s family, the grief is deeply personal and unspeakably cruel. The couple had married just days earlier, and Narwal was eagerly awaiting his 27th birthday on May 1—a celebration his family had been planning with pride.
In a short video now circulating on social media, Narwal is seen playfully recreating Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan’s arms-wide pose. Standing with Himanshi against the snow-capped backdrop, his smile beams with love and life—moments before the violence unfolded, the NDTV reported.
Narwal’s body was returned to his hometown of Karnal, Haryana, on Wednesday. He was laid to rest with full military honours, including a rifle salute and a solemn march. The sounds of a military band played as crowds gathered, many in tears, some standing silently with folded hands. His father lit the funeral pyre, following Hindu rites.
The loss of Lieutenant Narwal is not only a military tragedy but a human one—a man full of dreams, taken too soon. For Himanshi, the honeymoon became a nightmare. For the nation, another young life lost to terror.
