Vijay Varma's recently released web series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been making the headlines off lately for mixed reasons. The series is based on the hijack incident of an Indian passenger flight, IC 814, which took place back in 1999. It was Rupin Katyal, a businessman, who was brutally killed by Pakistani terrorists, and his then-newlywed wife, Rachna, had no idea about her husband's death. Back in that time, one of the hostages revealed what one of the terrorists had told Rachna, as she was crying inconsolably after being separated from her husband on the plane.
In a conversation with the NY Times, one of the hostages, Mrs. Menon, who was herself a newlywed back then, shared that Rachna Katyal had been crying continuously for two days, sitting in the economy class, and having no idea about her husband, Rupin's death. The hostage revealed that the terrorists were avoiding Rachna. It was on the third day, when one of the terrorists, Burger (Code name) came to her and told her that he was like her elder brother. Burger also told Rachna that her husband was released in Dubai, and she should be happy that her husband was safe and sound. Mrs. Menon could be quoted as saying:
"Poor thing, she was crying for two days. They were avoiding her. Then on the third day, Burger said to her, `I am like your elder brother. Your husband has been released in Dubai. You should be happy he is safe and sound.' Rachna never knew he was killed."
It's been 25 years since the horrific incident took place, and it's still afresh. Over the years, several movies and series have been made based on this IC 814 hijack incident. And IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack left everyone going back to the 8-days of horror when the Indian passer flight was hijacked by five Pakistani terrorists, Ibrahim Akthar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir. The terrorists demanded the freedom of their militants in exchange for the lives of the Indian passengers.
Well, among other passengers, newlyweds, Rupin Katyal and Rachna Katyal were returning from their honeymoon in Kathmandu, Nepal. The terrorists picked up some strong-looking men with them and shifted them to the executive-class compartment. Rupin was brutally killed by the terrorists as they wanted to set an example. In an interview with Rediff, a survivour, Kollattu Ravikumar, shared that some even claimed that Rupin was killed for disobeying the terrorists' commands. Kollattu Ravikumar mentioned that these claims might have been true as Rupin was looking back for his wife, Rachna, which eventually angered the hijackers.
Rachna Katyal was only 21 when her husband was brutally killed in the Indian flight IC 814 hijack. Well, her in-laws stood like a strong pillar of support for her and adopted her. Rachna's father-in-law secured her a job at the airline, which eventually helped her move on in life. Rachna's in-laws even did her kanyadaan, when she remarried.
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What do you think about the Pakistani terrorist asking Rachna to consider her as her elder brother?
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