The death of JC Chandra Mouli, a retired bank employee from Visakhapatnam, in the recent Pahalgam terror attack came as a rude shock to his neighbours, who remembered him as a friendly and sociable person.
Mouli, who lived in the Pandurangapuram area of the port city, spent his retirement in an apartment and actively supported the bank employees’ association, said Ravi Kumar, a neighbour.
"This is highly shocking news. We didn’t believe it at first. It distressed me deeply—a tragic development," Kumar told a vernacular news channel, adding that he was forced to accept the news after seeing Mouli’s photograph on a trusted news platform.
According to Kumar, Mouli regularly spent about two hours a day at the SBI head office in Vizag, attending to matters related to the employees’ association.
"During apartment meetings, he took a keen interest in resolving issues. He was elected vice-president of our apartment association, and I serve as the secretary," he said.
Kumar also fondly recalled crossing paths with Mouli during morning and evening walks, often engaging in friendly conversations.
He remembered that he was out of town when Mouli left for Kashmir and recalled Mouli mentioning that he had just sent his daughter back to the US.
Though neighbours were expecting Mouli to return today or tomorrow, Kumar said the tragic news has left them shattered.
Mouli, originally from Srikakulam, had settled in Visakhapatnam due to his banking career. Both his daughters are based in the US.
His body is expected to arrive in Visakhapatnam around 10 pm on an Air India flight via Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is expected to personally receive the body and pay his respects.
Meanwhile, the second Telugu victim of the attack has been identified as S Madhusudan, a software engineer from Bengaluru.
Madhusudan, who was settled in Bengaluru, had gone on a holiday to Jammu and Kashmir with his wife and two children. He was originally from Kavali in the Nellore district.
His body is scheduled to arrive in Chennai around 10 pm and will then be transported to Nellore by ambulance.