Sore back saves lives of state bride & Bihar groom
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Ranchi: For Raghib and Shabnam (name changed), their
honeymoon in Kashmir
was supposed to be the start of a beautiful chapter of their married life — a chance to explore new horizons together, surrounded by nature's splendour. It was their dream destination, and everything seemed perfect until a fateful twist of events turned their paradise into a nightmare.
Shabnam from Kanke and Raghib from Gaya in Bihar tied the knot on April 12. The couple, along with another newlywed couple, were on a five-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir and scheduled to return on April 22. They reached Pahalgam on April 20, two days before the attack by terrorists.
A visit to Baisaran was on their schedule. But they cut short their trip due to sore lower back from horse rides. What they blamed as a curse, turned out to be a blessing in disguise as they escaped the terror attack that occurred a day later.
Speaking to TOI, Raghib said, "We visited Aru Valley, Betaab Valley, and Chandanwari in Pahalgam before leaving for Srinagar on Monday. We could not visit Baisaran as the roads were in a dilapidated condition due to the previous day's rain."
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" Our travel agent advised us to visit the meadow on Tuesday. But my wife and friend's wife were reluctant as we were suffering from sore backs due to hours spent on horseback," he added.
Still in shock, he uttered, "People from across the country and abroad were enjoying, without any hint of what was to unfold the next day."
"We were at Nishat Bagh in Srinagar when we got the news on social media. Shabnam and my friend's wife kept asking repeatedly — What if it was not them, but us?" Raghib said.
Their train from Jammu to Delhi was scheduled on April 23. But they could not catch the train and had to spend two days at their relative's place in Srinagar. They had to spend around Rs 70,000 to reach Ranchi from Srinagar on April 25, Raghib said.
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