Rupin Katyal, a 25-year-old businessman, had boarded the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 with his then-newly married wife, Rachna Katyal. Without knowing about the ordeals that would soon fall upon them, the couple boarded the flight from Kathmandu, Nepal, where they had enjoyed their honeymoon. The IC 814, which Captain Devi Sharan flew, was hijacked by five Pakistani terrorists. They had only one motive — to pressurise the Indian government to release three terrorists in return for freeing the 170 passengers.
On the first day of the hijack, before the plane landed in Dubai, the five Pakistani hijackers picked out a group of ten men and sent them to the business class compartment; the passengers, who were already there, were moved to the economy. Rupin Katyal was one of ten men, and he was forced to leave his then-newly married wife, Rachna.
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According to a documentary interview, a fellow hostage, K. Keshav, revealed the ghastly incident that happened with Rupin. He shared that Rupin's throat was slashed in front of them as they wanted to scare the passengers by setting an example. Only a few knew what happened to Rupin, and his wife, Rachna, who was sitting in the economy class, had no idea about her husband's scary murder.
Rupin Katyal was the only son of his parents. According to the Captain of the aircraft, D Sharan, Rupin was killed because the hijackers were angry over the delay in the refuelling of the aircraft. According to the FIR report, Rupin's body had one stab wound on the abdomen, four wounds on the chest, two wounds on the neck, which was slit, and six stabs on the face.
The Captain D Sharan also revealed Rupin's last words. Till he was conscious, he kept asking for water. However, instead of giving him water, the terrorists threw a blanket, which was purchased in Kathmandu by one of the passengers, over his bleeding body. He passed away on the night of Christmas. His last words were:
"Papa pani, Papa pani."
The hijackers released 27 passengers, including the body of Rupin Katyal. A special IA relief aircraft brought back 13 women, 11 children and the dead body of Rupin Katyal from Dubai. Everyone was left in shock, witnessing the chaotic scene.
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When Rupin didn't come back to Rachna, she kept crying for two days. However, the terrorists kept avoiding her, and on the third day, one of them lied to her that her husband had been released and she should be happy that he was safe and sound. However, Rachna didn't know he was killed.
The hijack of 'IC 814' proves that terrorists only know how to terrorise the people and have no humanity in them.
Next Read: Who Was Rupin Katyal On Hijacked 'IC 814'? Murdered By Terrorist, His Newly-Married Wife Had No Idea
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