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'He couldn't tell he wasn't Indian': Nepali medic killed in Pahalgam was from Buddha's Lumbini
'He couldn't tell he wasn't Indian': Nepali medic killed in Pahalgam was from Buddha's Lumbini. Image: X
The body of 27-year-old Sudeep Neupane—the only foreign national killed in the Pahalgam terror attack—was cremated in his hometown of Kalikanagar in Butwal, Nepal.
His body, wrapped in the Nepali national flag, reached home after crossing multiple Indian states and the international border.
He was cremated at Triveni Ghat around noon, with hundreds of people, including local government officials, gathering to pay their last respects.
According to his family, Sudeep was shot immediately after identifying himself as a Hindu, without the chance to clarify that he wasn't Indian.
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Butwal, a city in Nepal's Lumbini province, lies just 25 km from the Indian border. By the time the ambulance arrived, a large crowd had already assembled to mourn his death.
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday, sparking widespread outrage in India and abroad.
India later uncovered cross-border links to the attack, with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba's proxy, The Resistance Group, claiming responsibility.
In response, New Delhi announced strong measures against Pakistan, including the expulsion of military attachés, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and closure of the Attari land transit post.
In retaliation, Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airlines and suspended all trade with India, including through third countries. It also rejected India's suspension of the water treaty and warned that blocking water flow would be considered an 'act of war.'
The terrorists had checked the identity cards of the tourists and made them recite an Islamic verse, the Kalma. Those who failed to do so—indicating they were not Muslims—were shot dead.
Officers examining the bodies for the FIR found signs of religious profiling, including pulled-down lower garments, likely to check for circumcision.
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