Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 23 (ANI): Karnataka Minister for Labour Santosh Lad on Wednesday reached Srinagar to oversee arrangements for the return of the mortal remains of Manjunath Rao, a Shivamogga resident who lost his life in the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

According to officials, Lad departed from Hubballi airport for Srinagar late on Tuesday night, following directives from the state government to expedite the process and support the bereaved family.

Manjunath Rao was visiting Jammu and Kashmir with his family as part of a package tour that began approximately eight days ago. He was killed when terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam.

The incident has left his hometown of Shivamogga in mourning. Preparations are underway at his residence for his funeral rites.

Speaking to ANI, his maternal uncle, Madhav Murthy, recounted the tragic incident.

'Manjunath is a relative. His son scored 98% marks in the second PU exams, which is why he took his family to Jammu and Kashmir. Shivamogga MP, MLA, and many others, including RSS leaders, are trying to bring his mortal remains. They went on a package tour around 8 days ago. When they were eating panipuri, terrorists attacked them. They told his wife and son to 'go and tell this to Modiji'. It's not good to lose anybody in any such attacks,' he said.

Karnataka Minister Madhu Bangarappa visited the residence of Pahalgam terrorist attack victim Manjunath's family in Shivamogga and offered condolences.

Shivamogga in-charge Minister Madhu Bangarappa said, 'This is very unfortunate, and such a situation was completely unexpected. Our minister is already present there and actively coordinating efforts. The state government is handling the matter with full care and responsibility.'

The terror attack has left families across the country searching for their loved ones.

'My younger brother went there for the holidays. We got this news from the television. We tried to contact him, but we were unable to do so...We are continuously trying to contact them,' a family member from Nagpur told ANI.

Shubham Dwivedi, a resident of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, lost his life in the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack.

His cousin Saurabh Dwivedi in Kanpur said, '...Shubham Bhaiya got married on February 12 this year. He was in Pahalgam with his wife. My sister-in-law called my uncle and told him that Shubham was shot in the head. It is also being said that the firing started after asking for the names of the individuals... We have received information that the body will be released after 2-3 days after completing all the procedures...'

An Indian Navy Officer, Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was posted in Kochi, was also been killed in the Terrorist Attack. He was in Pahalgam with his spouse while on leave. He is a native of Haryana and got married on April 16.

Vinay Narwal's neighbour said, 'He was married just a few days back; four days ago it was his reception and there was a celebration all over here. Today, we come to know that terrorists have killed him.'

Following the terror attack, security forces have launched search operations on Wednesday to track down the terrorists responsible.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a briefing meeting with EAM Dr S. Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and other officials immediately after landing in Delhi from Saudi Arabia. (ANI)