HYDERABAD: The Bhattacharya family had planned three months ago to visit the Amarnath shrine. They had no idea then that their pilgrimage would end on a tragic note. Tuesday’s terror claimed three members of the family.

The family of Sandeep Bhattacharya, 47, a commercial controller with the South Central Railway (SCR), left for Kolkata on July 4. He was accompanied by his mother Pratima, 65, wife Chaya, 43, and mother-in-law Kamala Bhattacharya, who joined the family in Rajahmundry.

Sandeep was a resident of Malkajgiri, while his mother lives in East Anand Bagh. In Kolkata, the family was joined by 12 other relatives and friends, including Sandeep’s eldest sister Kaveri Ghosh Roy, 51, and her husband, Asish Ghosh Roy.

On July 7, they took a train to Jammu from where they reached Srinagar.

The pilgrims had to wait for their turn to start the yatra. On Tuesday, they set out for local sightseeing in Srinagar.

“The television flash shocked us. The last time we heard from them was on Sunday evening. My mother called me up and said they had reached Srinagar safely and their turn to trek to the cave would come in a couple of days,” Dilip Bhattacharya, youngest brother of Sandeep, said.

As they saw the scrolls of the death of Sandeep, Pratima and Chaya, the family went into a state of shock. Panic-stricken, they made desperate calls to J&K.

A call to the hospital, where the victims were treated, brought a ray of hope as the authorities did not confirm the death of Sandeep.—By arrangement with The Times of India