On 12 December 1999, five Pakistani terrorists hijacked the Indian Airlines IC 814 flight going from Kathmandu to Delhi. 158 passengers and crew were held hostage by them to pressure the government to release three notorious terrorists.
The siege led to only one casualty, Rupin Katyal. The latest Netflix series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, by Anubhav Sinha replays those 8 days and the death of Rupin Katyal.
Who was Rupin Katyal?
Rupin Katyal was a 25-year-old Gurgaon-based businessman who was a passenger in the IC814 flight. He got married to Rachna Katyal, just 25 days back and was returning from their honeymoon from Kathmandu. What he thought was a normal day in flight, was his last journey. On the first day of the hijack, the terrorists killed him. He was stabbed multiple times with a sharp object. His lifeless body was left by terrorists in Dubai where the plane was briefly stopped.
It is also said that the couple would have flown back home 2 days earlier but didn’t got confirm tickets.
Why was he killed?
There are two floating theories about his murder.
- It could be because the terrorists wanted to put pressure on the government.
- Maybe Rupin was disobeying terrorists’ words. He was looking for his wife, whom he got separated as he and the other 10 male passengers were shifted to business class by the hijackers.
Where is Rachna Katyal?
Rachna was unaware of her husband’s death as the news wasn’t broken to her until much later. His last rites were performed without her, and after 10 days her father-in-law broke the tragic news to her.
In an interview with Rediff, she revealed that Indian Airlines gave her a compensation of Rs. 9 lakh.
Her in-laws helped her build a new life. Her father-in-law approached Indian Airlines to consider employment for her in the company. Rachna was a graduate of Rohtak University and got a job at the airline. Her work and studies helped her come out of trauma and reclaim her life.
Eventually, she got married for a second time in 2001.