Pahalgam photo evokes memories of Rupin Katyal, the honeymooner who died in IC-814 hijacking

One of the more harrowing images that has come out of the Pahalgam terrorist attack is that of a couple on honeymoon, after their world went dark. Him lying lifeless on the ground, clad in a black shirt and grey trousers. And the grieving bride kept vigil by his side, the red and white wedding bangles peeping out of the sleeve of her brown jacket.

 

The couple has not been identified as of now, but video clips of the bride from Kashmir have surfaced where she said that the two were sitting in the meadow and eating chaat when her husband was shot dead by terrorists. According to early reports, the terrorists had singled out victims by religion. Her bangles would have clearly signalled that she was a Hindu bride.

 

Parallels are being drawn between the death of Rupin Katyal, the sole victim of the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 on December 24, 1999. The flight bound for New Delhi was hijacked by five Pakistani terrorists shortly after take-off from Kathmandu, Nepal. Terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the hijacking.

 

Rachna and Rupin were honeymooning in the Himalayan kingdom and were on their way back when he was stabbed to death by hijackers. The couple had been married for just around 20 days.

 

Rupin hit the headlines in 2022 after his murderer Zahoor Mistry was killed in Karachi by unidentified gunmen. Reports then had said that of the five original hijackers, only two remained alive and one of them was Ibrahim Azhar, elder brother of Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi aka Masood Azhar, founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed.

 

Responsibility for the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a banned terrorist outfit that emerged after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. TRF is believed to be a proxy front of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

 

Residents in Pahalgam have taken out at least one rally condemning the attack. Sources in the Union Territory said that with this attack coming at the peak of Kashmir’s tourist season, Kashmiris are grieving the loss of lives and livelihood.

India