Rupin Katyal, a 25-year-old Gurgaon-based businessman, found himself in the midst of destiny's brutal play. He was returning from his honeymoon with his then-newly-married wife, Rachna Katyal, from Kathmandu, Nepal. Rupin had no idea that it would be his last flight as the Indian Airlines, IC 814, was hijacked by five Pakistani terrorists on December 24, 1999. It's been almost twenty-five years, but the pain and the traumas of those eight days of ordeals are still afresh in the minds of Indians.
Anubhav Sinha's latest web series, IC 814: The Kandhar Express, replayed the horrific eight days. And it is Rupin Katyal's story that still haunts everyone. The young man based in Gurgaon had gotten married just 21 days ago, when he was separated from his newly-married wife, Rachna, after the flight IC 814 was hijacked. In order to build pressure on the Indian Government, the terrorists killed Rupin with a sharp object.
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However, not many know that Rupin and Rachna could have avoided that fateful day when their flight was hijacked if the former had arranged the return tickets on time. In an interview with the Hindu, the captain of the flight, D. Sharan, revealed that Rupin and Rachna had postponed their return to New Delhi by two days as their tickets were not confirmed.
Imagine a young man who recently got married and is separated from his wife while returning from his honeymoon. There will be anger, fear, and nervousness, as well as a will to protect the loved one. Rupin Katyal felt these emotions within a few minutes when he was asked to move to business class along with ten other male passengers as per the order of the hijackers.
A co-passenger, Kollattu Ravikumar, who was a merchant navy captain for the US-based, Navitrek, revealed that Rupin was gruesomely murdered by one of the terrorists on the first day of the hijack. In an interview with Rediff, he shared that Rupin must have disobeyed the hijackers' command as he must be looking for his newly married wife, Rachna. Another motive behind it was to pressurise and scare the Indian government.
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For the unversed, Rachna Katyal, who was just 21 years old at that time, had no idea about her husband's unfateful demise. The terrorist showed as if her husband, Rupin, was alive and due to the injuries, he was being treated in a hospital in Dubai. According to co-passengers, the terrorists kept avoiding Rachna for three days, and she kept crying.
Even after returning safely back, Rachna was under the impression that her husband, Rupin, was in the hospital. His kriya was performed without her, and it was after ten days that she got to know about her husband's demise by her father-in-law.
Well, Rupin Katyal and Rachna Katyal's story proves that destiny plays a big role in our lives!
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