NEW DELHI: After travelling across three states and an international border, the body of Sudeep Neupane , 27, the only foreign national killed in the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, reached his home in Kalikanagar, a neighbourhood in Butwal, western Nepal, draped in the national flag. He was cremated around noon.
Sudeep, his family said, was shot immediately after he identified himself as a Hindu and had no time to explain that he was not from India. Butwal, a city in Lumbini province, sits just 25km north of the Indian border at Sunauli, close enough for shared economies and quiet daily crossings. It is not the kind of place where news arrives quickly, and yet by the time the ambulance reached Sudeep's home, the neighbours had already gathered
Sudeep had travelled to Kashmir with his mother Reema, sister Sushma, and brother-in-law Ujjwal Kafle on April 19. It was meant to be a brief trip, just long enough to give his divorced mother some respite. On the day of the shooting, the family was walking along the meadow when the terrorists approached. Witnesses said the attackers asked about their religion. Sudeep was walking slightly ahead of the others. He answered that he was Hindu. Before he could say anything else, he was shot.
"He didn't get the chance to say he was a foreigner," said Tejulal Neupane, his uncle, who has since called for compensation from the Indian govt. "He had nothing to do with anything."
His death triggered a series of logistical efforts across two countries. His body was airlifted from Srinagar to New Delhi on Wednesday evening, then flown to Lucknow later that night. From there, it was driven overland to Sunauli before crossing into Nepal. A district magistrate from UP accompanied the body as far as the border. At Sunauli, it was received by Dadhiram Neupane, Sudeep's uncle and the ward chairperson of Butwal-14. A police escort led the final leg to Kalikanagar.
Sudeep, his family said, was shot immediately after he identified himself as a Hindu and had no time to explain that he was not from India. Butwal, a city in Lumbini province, sits just 25km north of the Indian border at Sunauli, close enough for shared economies and quiet daily crossings. It is not the kind of place where news arrives quickly, and yet by the time the ambulance reached Sudeep's home, the neighbours had already gathered
Sudeep had travelled to Kashmir with his mother Reema, sister Sushma, and brother-in-law Ujjwal Kafle on April 19. It was meant to be a brief trip, just long enough to give his divorced mother some respite. On the day of the shooting, the family was walking along the meadow when the terrorists approached. Witnesses said the attackers asked about their religion. Sudeep was walking slightly ahead of the others. He answered that he was Hindu. Before he could say anything else, he was shot.
"He didn't get the chance to say he was a foreigner," said Tejulal Neupane, his uncle, who has since called for compensation from the Indian govt. "He had nothing to do with anything."
His death triggered a series of logistical efforts across two countries. His body was airlifted from Srinagar to New Delhi on Wednesday evening, then flown to Lucknow later that night. From there, it was driven overland to Sunauli before crossing into Nepal. A district magistrate from UP accompanied the body as far as the border. At Sunauli, it was received by Dadhiram Neupane, Sudeep's uncle and the ward chairperson of Butwal-14. A police escort led the final leg to Kalikanagar.
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