Pahalgam attack: PM Modi says every Indian seething with anger, assures justice to victims
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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated on Sunday that the terrorists behind the Pahalgam terror attack and those involved in the conspiracy will be served the most stringent punishment, asserting that the victims will receive justice.
In his Mann Ki Baat address, Modi said the solidarity of Indians in the war against terrorism is the country's biggest strength.
He said his heart is in deep pain and every Indian is seething with anger over the terror strike that killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists.
Modi said the incident reflected the desperation and cowardice of terrorists and their mentors at a time when peace was returning to Kashmir, tourism was seeing a record surge, democracy was turning stronger and new opportunities were being created for the youth.
Enemies of the country and Kashmir did not like it, he said, adding that they wanted the Valley to be destroyed again.
He said, "In the war against terrorism, the unity of the country, the solidarity of 140 crore Indians, is our biggest strength."
The world is watching that India is speaking in one voice against the attack, he said, stressing that this unity is the biggest basis of the decisive battle against terrorism.
Irrespective of the state one lives in and the language one speaks, everyone has deep sympathy for the families of victims, he said.
Terrorists on Tuesday opened fire in Baisaran, a popular tourist spot in the upper reaches of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, killing 26 people.
In the monthly broadcast, the prime minister also paid tributes to scientist and former ISRO head K Kasturirangan who passed away on Friday, saying his selfless service to the country and contribution to nation-building will always be remembered.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
