It was a harrowing beginning of the century for India. While the world welcomed the Y2K with open arms, India was welcoming survivors of the IC 814 hijack. About 154 passengers and crew were held hostage for eight days while the hijackers negotiated the release of three high-profile militants. By the end of the week-long siege, there was one fatality — Rupin Katyal. The death featured in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, Netflix’s new series that capsules the events that took place during the hijack.
Who Was Rupin Katyal?
Rupin Katyal was one of the passengers who boarded IC 814 from Kathmandu. He was returning from his honeymoon with his wife, Rachna. What they thought was a flight back home, quickly turned into a nightmare. It was reported that Rupin was killed on the first day of the hijack. He was stabbed multiple times, Rachna recalled in an interview a year after the hijack. Sadly, she wasn’t informed about Rupin’s death during the hijack and was under the presumption that he was alive when the hostages were freed.
As shown in the series, Rupin was one of the 10 passengers who were taken to the business class area of the plane once it was hijacked. He was stabbed to death and his mortal remains were deplaned in Dubai, where IC 814 had briefly landed on the orders of the hijackers.
How Was Rupin Katyal Killed?
In an FIR report published by Rediff at the time, it was revealed that Rupin’s body had “one stab wound on the abdomen, four stab wounds on the chest, two stab wounds on the neck where the jugular vein was slit, six stab wounds on the face and one abrasion on the nose.”
What Happened To His Widow, Rachna?
Speaking with the publication, Rachna revealed she was not aware of her husband’s death until much later. When she was released, along with the other hostages, her father-in-law had come to receive her but he didn’t let her know about Rupin’s death. She was told that he was in the hospital. “I was told Rupen is no more only much later, after even the kriya ceremony had been performed. It was only when I repeatedly kept asking for Rupen and they could avoid it no longer that I was finally told the truth. I think I was becoming hysterical so my father-in-law finally pointed to a large photograph of Rupen and brokenly told me, ‘That is your Rupen. That is all that we have of him’,” she said.
Following Rupin’s death, his father supported Rachna. He encouraged her to get a job.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is currently streaming on Netflix.
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