The tragic 1999 IC184 hijack changed the life of Rachna Katyal – who was married for just 21 days. She and her 25-year-old businessman husband Rupin Katyal were returning from their honeymoon in Nepal when the Indian Airlines flight was hijacked. What happened then, turned her newly married life into a nightmare.
Rachna Katyal was just 21 years old when she was returning from her honeymoon in Kathmandu with her husband, Rupin. The couple boarded the flight and were sitting together when it was hijacked. The terrorists demanded the release of three militants held in Indian jails and threatened the authorities that they would kill the passengers if their demands weren’t met.
On day one of the hijack, terrorists made men on the flight sit separately when Rupin was separated from Rachna. He was then murdered by the terrorists, to show the Indian authorities what they could do. However, Rachna was unaware of the same. When she learned the truth, her life shattered.
While Rachna was grief-struck after the incident, her in-laws supported her and accepted her as their own daughter. In one of the interviews, Rachna shared how her in-laws ‘rebuilt’ her life. “Today they are dearer to me than anyone else and we have, in a way, come closer because of the immense tragedy we have shared. Our grief cannot be assuaged. My in-laws have accepted the fact that their son is no more and they have now devoted their life to my welfare. They say, ‘All we have is Rachna and she is our daughter now and we have to rebuild her life’,” she said as quoted by MoneyControl.
It was her father-in-law, Chander Mohan Katyal, who asked her to remarry and give herself a second chance. “It was my father-in-law who, after discussing it with my mother-in-law, decided that I could not just spend the rest of my life in mourning,” Rachna shared.
Rupin’s father first helped Rachna in getting a job. He approached Indian Airlines and requested them to consider employing Rachna. When Rachna secured the job, she felt “my life once again has a purpose”.
Two years after the hijack i.e. in 2001, Rachna found love once again and decided to remarry. Her in-laws supported her and Rupin’s father did her Kanyadaan – a Hindu ritual which is traditionally done by the bride’s father.
While Rachna married an MNC manager in 2001, the couple reportedly welcomed their first child the next year.
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