Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, a 26-year-old naval officer from Karnal, Haryana, was among the 26 people killed in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, also called 'Mini Switzerland', on Tuesday.
He had recently married Himanshi from Gurugram on April 16, and the couple was on their honeymoon in Kashmir. Their wedding reception had taken place just days earlier, on April 19.
As per reports which reached here, Narwal was shot in chest, neck and left arm and was brought dead to the hospital. There is no confirmation about the condition of his wife, Himanshi.
He completed his Class 10 from Saint Kabir School in Karnal, pursued his Class 12 in Delhi, and went on to earn a B Tech degree from Sonepat.
Defence officials confirmed that Lieutenant Vinay Narwal was posted in Kochi and had joined the Indian Navy two years ago. Originally from Bhusli village in Karnal district, he was currently residing in Sector 7, Karnal.
He is survived by his father, Rajesh Narwal, a superintendent with the GST wing of the state excise department in Panipat; his mother, Asha Narwal; his younger sister, Srishti; and his grandfather, Hawa Singh, a retired police officer.
Singh said, "We have come to know that the terrorist asked the religion and then fired. He and his wife was having food at that time and he was shot in the head. In the information given to us we were told that in the attack he was shot in the head. His father, sisters, father-in-law and mother-in-law have left for Srinagar."
"When he was three and half years old we had shifted from our village to Karnal. He did his Class X from here and Class XII from Delhi. Then he did his B Tech from Sonepat. Then through SSB he was directly got commissioned in the navy as second Lieutenant and about one and half years ago he was promoted as Lieutenant,’’ he said.
Singh said, "His grandson always wanted to serve in the armed forces and since childhood when he use to see military vehicles he use to ask me many questions. I had served in the BSF and I knew how tough is the job guarding the borders and then I joined Haryana Police."
As the news of his death reached the neighbors and locals went into a shock and described Narwal as a young officer with a bright future. People gathered at Narwal's residence in Karnal to mourn his death with his family.
"Vinay a navy officer was married about four days ago, everyone was happy. We have received the information that he was killed by terrorists and died on the spot said,’’ Naresh Bansal, a neighbor.