‘It was a very emotional moment:’ PM Modi meets family of Pahelgam terrorist attack victim Shubham Diwedi

Dipanjan Mondal, 30 May, 2025 : 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the family of Shubham Dwivedi at Chakeri Airport in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, who was among the 26 victims killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. One of Shubham’s cousins said that it was a very emotional moment and all family members teared up during the meeting with PM Modi, news agency PTI quoted. 

Shubham, 31, had tied the knot on 12 February this year, was visiting Pahelgam with his wife and other family members when the terror attack took place, resulting his death. "The PM was himself very very sad about the Pahalgam killings. He placed a hand on the shoulder of Shubham's father and consoled him. It was a very emotional meeting," Shubham's wife Aishanya said about the meeting. 

The meeting comes after the family members raised a request to meet the prime minister through their regional parliamentarian, MP Ramesh Awasthi. A week ago, Lok Sabha MP from Kanpur Ramesh Awasthi wrote to the PMO, requesting Prime Minister Modi to meet the family of Shubham Dwivedi. Awasthi said in the letter that the family has “thanked PM Modi for Operation Sindoor as it has brought peace to the soul of Shubham Dwivedi and has expressed desire to thank the prime minister for that”. 

“We requested our Honourable Parliamentarian, Ramesh Awasthi, that kindly allow us to meet PM Modi on his scheduled visit to Kanpur on 30th May. Awasthi not only assured us of his full support but also immediately wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, requesting that he meet with us. Yesterday, we learned through the media that the Prime Minister will indeed be meeting our family during his visit to Kanpur. This news brought us a great sense of relief and hope. We had faith that the Honourable Prime Minister, who deeply respects the sacrifices made for the nation, would acknowledge our plea,” Saurabh Diwedi, cousin of Shubham Diwedi told the reporters.  

The Prime Minister shared the update on the meeting on his social media account and wrote, "Today I met the family members of our Kanpur son, Shubham Dwivedi, who lost his life in the cowardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam. They expressed his gratitude to our mighty army for Operation Sindoor against terrorism. This spirit of his is going to inspire the countrymen."

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, targeting terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).