Bharath Bhushan's body was brought home at dawn on Thursday and was cremated at the electric crematorium, Hebbal, in the evening.
Published Apr 24, 2025 | 5:46 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 24, 2025 | 6:06 PM
The mortal remains of Bharath Bhushan were kept for public view at Mathikere in Bengaluru. (South First)
Synopsis: The family of Bharath Bhushan has come to terms with reality, but their loss remains irreversible. The man leaves behind his parents, a young wife and a toddler. Speaking after paying his last respects, Karnataka Governor and former Union Minister from BJP, Thaawarchand Gehlot, acknowledged that security lapse led to Pahalgam terror strike.
Havish was as excited as any other toddler when he left Bengaluru with his parents to go to Jammu and Kashmir on 18 April. He didn’t know much about their destination or the distance they would cover, but the thought of going out with his doting father and mother further elated the bubbly three-year-old child.
The distance they covered in a few days might haunt the boy in the years to come. He might have faint memories of the trip — his father Bharath Bhushan’s last — the new sights and sounds, the pony he rode, the good times, and the days of gloom that followed. For the boy, while growing up, his father would mostly be the man smiling from photographs and videos.
His mother, Dr Sujatha, would have more poignant memories, refusing to fade over time. The trip would haunt her, the rat-tat-tat of automatic rifles and petrified screams buzzing as if in a loop in her mind. The tranquil, verdant sights of nature might kindle in her a fear of danger, and irreversible loss.
Paediatrician Dr Sujatha’s husband, and Havish’s father, Bharath, was among 26 people killed in an abominable act of terrorism, reportedly scripted and stage-managed from across India’s northwestern border.
Bharath, a 41-year-old IT professional running his own business, was unarmed like other tourists when the terrorists snuck up, opened fire at selected people, largely Hindus, and scurried away into the shadows.
At Gokula Road Extension in Bengaluru’s Mathikere, the news of the attack at the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir came unexpectedly, like the rest of India. Shock led to numbness as the neighbourhood realised that one among them had fallen in the Valley.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met the family members of Bharat Bhushan and condoled his untimely death. (South First)
What began as a trickle turned into a flow of people to Bharath’s house as the news spread on Wednesday, 23 April, a day after the incident. Earlier in the day, Bharath’s father, Chennaveerappa, had learnt about the tragic incident as he opened the newspaper.
“I got to know about my son’s death after reading the newspaper.” he couldn’t digest the news. “I re-read the same sentence to confirm that it was my son,” the 74-year-old man said on Thursday. The news had left the man speechless for a while as conflicting emotions overpowered and clouded his mind and thoughts.
“My elder son and his wife already knew that Bharath was killed, but they did not tell us, considering our advanced age and health,” the grieving father said.
Daybreak was still a few hours away as people reached Bharath’s residence. Some of them enquired if the body would be kept for public viewing. Some of them sat on plastic chairs in the temporary pandal the family had put up. Many others waited on the road in small groups, some silent, while others spoke to each other softly.
Hundreds of people queued up to pay homage to Bharath Bhushan, killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir (South First).
Posters featuring Bharath’s photograph were put on the main street leading to his residence and at a nearby BBMP park. At 5.45 am, an ambulance passed through the street and brought Bharath home.
Chennaveerappa could no longer hold back. He cried unabashedly as the coffin was brought in. His wife, Shylakumari, too, came out of the house a little later and sat by the freezer in which her son was kept.
She was inconsolable. Her relatives looked grief-stricken and worried. Shylakumari has a serious heart condition and was recently discharged from a hospital. Before the body was brought home, Shylakumari was informed of the terror attack. The mother was told that Bharath had been injured, but was safe.
A day earlier, Bharath’s elder brother Preetham Chennaveerappa and Sujatha’s brother had left for Kashmir to bring him back. They knew he was dead.
Dr Sujatha, 37, cried each time a relative or friend or colleagues from MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital approached her. In between sobs, she tried to recall the incident but often chocked on words. The past three days were not a bad dream. They were real.
Bharat Bhushan with family. (Sourced)
The toddler, Havish, looked bewildered. He looked around at the people crowding his home, his mother, and his grandparents. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was among those who gathered to pay homage to his father.
Some people patted his cheeks silently. It was new to him. Normally, people talked to him. But Thursday was different.
The boy was soon taken inside, even as people kept coming to pay homage to Bharath.
Meanwhile, Chennaveerappa came to terms with the grim reality. “My son is gone now,” he said. It was all that mattered now. “What more can I say about how it happened?” the septuagenarian asked.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited Bharath’s residence and met his family members.
“I condemn this heinous act. What more do you think can be worse than seeing her husband being shot in front of her? The terrorists killed innocent people,” he said.
“This attack has taken place after the Pulwama attack in which 40 soldiers had died. Such incidents should not repeat. The Union Government should hunt down the terrorists and not a single one must be left in the country.”
Siddaramaiah blamed intelligence failure for the killing of innocent souls. “Three people from our state were killed by terrorists on Tuesday. Our minister Santosh Lad is bringing back the rest of the Kannadigas from Kashmir safely today,” he said.
The chief minister has announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh each to the three families.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, too, paid last respects to Bharath.
“I accept that there were security lapses. The central government will study these lapses and take rightful measures,” he told reporters at Bharath’s residence.
He assured that the government would take revenge for this heinous act of terrorists. Yesterday, the cabinet committee held a meeting for an hour, and some stringent actions were taken against Pakistan. I am sure these actions by India will trouble Pakistan.”
When reminded that the central government had initiated only diplomatic measures against Pakistan, he said the entire nation was angry over the heinous act. “I am sure that the central government will retaliate.”
The governor also appreciated the state government for bringing back people of Karnataka from Kashmir.
“The state government has announced ₹10 lakh as compensation for families of victims, and I appreciate it. They have also worked without wasting time to bring back the residents of Karnataka safely,” he lauded.
Besides Bharath, Manjunath Rao and Madhusudhan Rao from Karnataka were also killed in the attack. Manjunath’s body was taken to Shivamogga, while Madhusudhan’s mortal remains were taken to his native place via Chennai.
Bharath was cremated at the electric crematorium, Hebbal, in the evening.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
