Pune: People take part in the funeral of Kaustubh Ganbote, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, in Pune, Thursday, April 24, 2025. | PTI Photo
The last rites of Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote, who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack, were performed on Thursday at the Vaikunth Crematorium in Pune’s Navi Peth.
Thousands of Punekars gathered to pay their final respects and bid an emotional farewell to the two close friends. Chants of “Pakistan jala do” and several other anti-Pakistan slogans were raised during the funeral procession.
Clad in her bloodstained clothes as a grim reminder of the tragedy, Jagdale’s daughter Asavari led his funeral procession. “Today, my life has been completely ruined, I cannot see my husband anymore,” said Jagdale’s wife, Pragati, while venting out her emotions. She also demanded in front of NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar that those terrorists should be shot the same way they killed her husband and others.
Jagdale’s 84-year-old mother, speaking to a local news channel, appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take strict action against Pakistan. The grief-stricken mother said in Marathi, “Put a bomb on Pakistan. They have taken my son away from me. This is my appeal to PM Modi and Amit Shah. I request them with folded hands. I am 84 years old. The action should be taken until I am alive.”
Ganbote’s wife Sangita also recounted her harrowing experience to Pawar during his visit to the bereaved family. “The terrorists were insisting that everyone recite ‘azaan’. All women in the group started reciting it, but still, they killed our men. One local person, who was also a Muslim, confronted the four terrorists and asked why they were killing innocent people. He was also stripped and shot,” said Sangita as she could not hold back her tears.
“As my husband’s friend (Jagdale) was called by the terrorists and was asked whether he could recite the ‘azaan’, all women in the group immediately removed the bindis from our foreheads and started chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’. But the terrorists killed both of them (Jagdale and Ganbote) and left the place,” she added.
Jagdale and Ganbote’s mortal remains reached around 5:30am at the Pune International Airport, where Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol was present to receive them. Their remains were kept at their respective homes in Karvenagar and Kondhwa for people to pay homage, and then taken to the Vaikunth Crematorium for the last rites.
Friends and family of the two mourned their loss and said they could not believe that they weren’t with them anymore.
“All his life, he (Ganbote) was busy expanding his ‘farsan’ business. This was the first time he and his wife had decided to travel outside the city. They planned the trip with his close friend Santosh (Jagdale) and his family. Only eight days ago, he had told me about the Kashmir plan. He was really excited,” Sunil More, Ganbote’s childhood friend, said.
“He had a serious accident 20 years ago when the tempo he was travelling in crashed, leaving him with severe burn injuries. He used to call it his second birth,” More added.
“Ganbote and Jagdale were close friends, and Jagdale often helped with the marketing of Ganbote’s products. Jagdale, who ran an interior designing business, also played the harmonium,” said his brother Avinash. “He loved travelling and exploring new places,” he added.
