‘The soul of my husband will rest in peace': Wife of Surat banker who was killed in Pahalgam

Indian Express

07-05-2025

Sheetal Kalathiya, who had raised concerns about the lack of security in Baisaran, Pahalgam—where her husband Shailesh was shot dead on a fateful terror attack on April 22—said, 'We are happy with the step taken by our (Union) government, as the soul of my husband and others deceased will rest in peace.'
India on Wednesday hit nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting terrorist infrastructure there. The strike, dubbed Operation Sindoor, came two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack.
'I want to appeal to the Gujarat government that, like the Maharashtra government announced a compensation amount (Rs 50 lakh) to the families of the Pahalgam victims from Maharashtra, a similar or higher compensation amount should be given by the Gujarat government,' she said.
On Wednesday morning, Kalathiya's family in the Mota Varachha area of Surat distributed sweets to celebrate Operation Sindoor. Sheetal Kalathiya, who is in Mumbai with her two children, Naksh and Niti to complete official processes with bank authorities, put out a video praising the operation.
She said in the video, 'I had complete faith in my government. I came to know today that Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) killed the terrorists one by one by going to their hideouts. Hearing this, my husband's soul has found immense peace, and the souls of the 25 others who were killed along with him will also find peace.'
She sought compensation on the lines of what the Maharashtra government had provided the next of kin from that state and said, '…My Gujarat government will provide even better help and provide justice to my children.'
Sheetal had told Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R Paatil, when he came for her husband's cremation, that the 'problem' was not with Kashmir but with the government's security arrangements for tourists.
The Maharashtra government had earlier announced interim compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of six deceased from Maharashtra who died in the Pahalgam terror attack. Later, the Maharashtra state cabinet approved a compensation amount of Rs 50 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
The Gujarat government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh.
Shailesh Kalathiya (44), a resident of Mota Varachha in Surat who was based in Mumbai, worked as a bank manager at the Andheri branch of the State Bank of India. He was killed along with 25 other male tourists by terrorists at Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22. Shailesh had gone to Kashmir on vacation with his family members and the family of his colleague from Mumbai.