Amarnath bus driver ’couldn’t save 7 but drove everyone else to safety’

Mangalore Today News Network

Anantnag/Surat, July 11, 2017:  As a group of terrorists surrounded a bus with 61 Amarnath pilgrims on Monday night and fired indiscriminately, driver Sheikh Salim Gafoor Bhai kept driving. In inky darkness, he drove on through the hail of bullets to safety.

"God gave me strength to keep moving, and I just did not stop. The firing went on and on, so I didn’t stop. I kept driving," said Salim, who is being held up by many as an example of humanity beyond religion.

Seven pilgrims returning from the Amarnath shrine were killed and 20 wounded in the terror attack in Anantnag, one of the worst in the Kashmir Valley in recent years. The bus had pilgrims from Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Had Salim stopped or panicked, more lives would have been lost, believe pilgrims who survived the attack.

"My driver was so brave...he drove on," said an injured woman at the Anantnag district hospital.

"There was firing from all three sides. It went on and on for several minutes. Our driver managed to take the bus a few km ahead. He saved us," said another injured pilgrim.

The attackers were Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, the police in Kashmir told NDTV. They had fired at an armoured police car and a security check-post before surrounding the pilgrims’ bus on three sides and firing. The bus was not meant to be on the highway after 5 pm, given security restrictions, but it was delayed by more than two hours, reportedly because of a flat tyre.

Bhagya Mani, who lost her sister-in-law, said: "The driver drove the bus for a kilometre. It was pitch-dark and we could see nothing."

At 9:30 pm, around an hour after the terrorists struck, Salim dialed his cousin to share his horror.

"He told me that he did not stop there when terrorists fired, he only looked for a safer spot for pilgrims," said Javed Mirza. "He couldn’t save seven lives but managed to move 50 people to a safe place. I am proud of him."

Salim deserves an award, said Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. "I want to thank the bus driver for saving the lives of people even when there was firing going on. I will nominate his name for a bravery award," he said.

Courtesy:NDTV