‘Waited for his call … ’: Karwa Chauth celebrations end in grief after terrorist attack claims life of sole breadwinner in Kashmir – Times of India

The attack occurred just after Shashi and his team had returned to their camp for the night, turning the festive occasion of Karwa Chauth into a nightmare for his family. (AI generated image)

NEW DELHI: Ruchi Abrol waited anxiously for her husband’s call, dressed in her Karwa Chauth finery, fasting for his long life. Instead, what she received was news that would shatter her world — her husband, Shashi Abrol, had been killed in a terror attack in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district late Sunday night.
Shashi, an architectural designer, was one of seven victims in a deadly attack on a tunnel construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway.The attack occurred just after Shashi and his team had returned to their camp for the night, turning the festive occasion of Karwa Chauth into a nightmare for his family.
“I spoke to him in the evening. He didn’t mention any threats. I was going to the temple as part of my Karwa Chauth fast, and we had a brief conversation,” recalled a devastated Ruchi, holding onto their three-year-old daughter, as quoted by PTI. “I tried calling him after I returned, but he didn’t pick up. After that, his phone was switched off.”
It wasn’t until hours later that Ruchi and her family learned the horrifying truth—through the media.
“Her life is shattered,” said Divya, Shashi’s sister. “Karwa Chauth has turned into a day of catastrophe for us. Our dear Shashi Ji was killed in a cowardly act by terrorists.”
Shashi had been working for six years with APCO, a construction company, and was the family’s sole breadwinner. He had recently returned home to Jammu for his son’s college admission. His dream was to see his son become an engineer.
Now, his family’s future is uncertain. “What have they gained from this? How will she feed her children now? We curse them,” Divya added, grieving for her brother.
Shashi’s father, J L Abrol, called for government support, pleading, “We demand a job for my daughter-in-law to feed the family. There is no breadwinner left in the family.”
Local authorities have assured that efforts to bring back Shashi’s body for the last rites are being fast-tracked. “The loss cannot be compensated,” said Shishir Gupta, additional deputy commissioner of Jammu, but the family remains inconsolable.
Hundreds of neighbors and relatives have visited the family to offer their condolences, but the grief is palpable, and the family’s demands are clear: justice, support, and security for the future of Ruchi and her children.
“This is proof of how much peace and normalcy has been restored,” remarked Shashi’s sister Urvashi, her words dripping with irony. “We lost our brother.”