We are alive: Couple says their video mistakenly used as Navy officer Vinay Narwal’s last moments before Pahalgam attack

The couple in a viral video, claiming to be Navy officer Vinay Narwal’s last moments before Pahalgam attack, has issued a statement on their social media profile that they are alive and their video has been mistakenly used as that of Narwal and his wife.

Navy officer Vinay Narwal was killed when terrorists opened fire at a group in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam district, killing 26 civilians, mostly tourists on April 22.

In a video posted on Instagram on April 23, the couple, Ashish Sehrawat and his wife Yashika Sharma, identified themselves in the viral video and issued a clarification stating that their clip has been mistakenly linked with the Navy officer.

What was the ‘Navy officer’s viral video’?

A 19-second clip quickly went viral on April 23, showing a young couple dancing at Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, where the terror attack took place. The video was widely circulated as ‘Navy officer Vinay Narwal’s last video with wife Himanshi’ before the terrorist attack.

Speaking to HT.com, Sehrawat, who works for the Indian Railways, confirmed the video was recorded on April 14 during their vacation in Kashmir. Sehrawat also shared a screenshot with HT.com, displaying the video’s metadata which showed that it was recorded on April 14. Narwal’s family has also denied the claim, a HT report said.

What does the couple’s clarification say?

Appealing to their followers on Instagram, the content creator couple requested to report any pages misusing their video as it’s “truly disheartening”.

“Hey guys we are alive and wanted to address a recent video we posted that unfortunately sparked a lot of hatred, leading us to delete it. Sadly, the video was misused by multiple pages and news channels, falsely claiming it was the last video of late Vinay sir and his wife. Our heartfelt condolences go out to their family. We kindly request that you report any pages misusing our video, as it’s truly disheartening,” Yashika and Ashish captioned their post.

The couple had reportedly shared the video on their Instagram page on the same day as the attack but deleted it after receiving backlash. “We started receiving backlash for posting a video from the same location where the attack happened, so we took it down. But by then, someone had already started circulating it with a false claim that it showed Vinay Narwal and his wife,” Sehrawat told HT.

“It was frightening for us but more than that, imagine how painful it must have been for the family who lost someone they loved, only to see a stranger’s video being circulated as their last memory,” Sharma can be heard saying in her Instagram post.

Narwal’s last rites held with full military honours

On Wednesday afternoon, Narwal’s mortal remains were brought to the IGI airport in Delhi from Kashmir, from where they were taken to his native place Karnal in Haryana where the last rites were held with full military honours.

“Let his soul rest in peace…We should all be proud of him in every way.

And we will make him proud in every way,” said Himanshi, who hails from Gurugram and is pursuing a PhD. “Jai Hind,” she said, saluting her husband Narwal at the IGI.

As soon as the mortal remains were brought to Karnal, a large number of people turned up to pay their last respects, with some raising “Pakistan Murdabad” slogans.

Later, Narwal’s wife and some other family members accompanied the Navy officer on his final journey as the mortal remains were taken to the cremation ground in another vehicle with thousands of people turning up.

The last rites were held in the evening in Karnal with Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Punjab’s Finance Minister and AAP leader Harpal Singh Cheema also present.

The Navy personnel offered a gun salute as mortal remains were consigned to flames.

(With inputs from agencies)