Wounds reopened for Surat family that lost 4 children in 2006 grenade attack

Time of India

23-04-2025

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Surat: Kashmira Jariwala chokes up and begins to cry at the words 'terror' and 'Kashmir', even 19 years on. Her daughter Krishna (16) was killed in the attack along with three other children from the same group of relatives, on the outskirts of Srinagar on May 26, 2006.
Twenty-two members of the Jariwala family and their relatives were on a summer vacation in Jammu & Kashmir. They got to Srinagar on May 25, and their bus was attacked the next day. They were going to Mughal Gardens when two men rode up on a motorcycle and threw a grenade into the moving bus.
The explosion killed Krishna, Fenil Jariwala (8), Robin Jariwala (8) and Khushboo Jariwala (16). Shivang (29) was badly injured in the spine and his lower body has been paralysed ever since. Even as the whole country was shocked, the Jariwalas were devastated. They had gone to J&K for a vacation with four young ones but returned to the city with their bodies.
"Krishna had called just two hours before the attack, to inquire about her Class X result. She passed the exam scoring 86%," said Chandan, Krishna's grandmother, with tears in her eyes. Krishna had gone for the vacation with her uncle and aunt.
Shivang's mother, Hemaxi, said, "We lost four young ones from our family and never went back to Kashmir. We will never go there again."
"I lost my daughter in the attack. It was a tragedy that engulfed our entire family. We can never forget what happened that day," said Rajesh Jariwala, Krishna's father.
The grenade had landed behind Shivang's seat, injuring him in the lower back. He was 10 years old then. The other children were in the seats where the grenade went off. Shivang was hospitalized in Srinagar for six days and was operated on. He was later taken to Mumbai for another surgery.
"We were going to see the gardens when two men on a motorcycle threw a grenade into the bus. I suffered multiple injuries in the attack," said Shivang.
"I was young then, but I remember how I ran holding Shivang's hand and got off the bus. We tried to get help from people nearby, but a few people closed their doors as we were covered in blood. We later found shelter in a home where Shivang sat down but was unable to get up again," said Urvisha (28), Shivang's younger sister.
The then CM Narendra Modi came to console the family and announced financial support. Modi in 2021 spoke of the incident in his farewell to Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament, mentioning how the then chief minister of J&K, Azad, had helped and was almost crying while informing him about the incident.
"We are speechless when such things happen. We can never forget what happened to us. We should stop going to J&K. There are many other places," said Rakesh, Robin's father.
In memory of the children, a monument has been built at a crossroads in the Rustampura area. The families earlier lived in a neighbourhood nearby. On the anniversary of the attack, the families, friends, relatives and other citizens pay homage to the victims at the memorial.