'It's like watching my past unfold again': 26 years after IC-814, Pahalgam attack mirrors honeymoon tragedy

Time of India

25-04-2025

GURGAON: Separated by 26 years, Rachna and Himanshi share a tragic bond forged by the ruthless hand of terrorism. Both lost their newlywed husbands — in their twenties — in attacks they were never meant to witness.
Lt Vinay Narwal (26) fell victim to Tuesday's terror attack in Pahalgam. He and his wife Himanshi had chosen Kashmir for their honeymoon after their Swiss visa plans fell through.
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In a strikingly similar twist of fate, Rupin Katyal died in the 1999 hijacking of IC-814 — just 21 days after his wedding to Rachna.
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Like the Narwals, the Katyals, too, were not supposed to be present at the scene of attack. In 1999, the honeymooning couple had deferred their Dec 22 flight from Nepal to 24th.
The similarities don't end there. Rupin was a Gurgaon resident. Narwal was married to a Gurgaon resident.
Tuesday's terror strike in the Valley brought back memories for Rachna, who now works with Air India.
"It's like watching my past unfold again," she says, reflecting on the haunting parallels. "They are so striking that it reminds me of everything that happened to us 26 years ago. Everything is still vivid. We, too, changed our travel plans and were caught in the hijack. Some things are not in your hands," she rues.
Rachna expresses deep concern over recurring terror attacks in the country. "Such incidents continue unabated. Why is the govt not doing anything about it? Every time such attacks take place, they show the failure of intelligence. It's a cause for concern that the terrorists involved in the
Pahalgam attack
have still not been caught. What happened to me can happen to anyone," she tells TOI.
More than two decades on, Rupin's memory lives on in Gurgaon. A road abutting the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway near Iffco Chowk bears his name. His family maintains their presence through a shop in Sadar Bazar and a house in Sector 14. His father, Chander Mohan Katyal, passed away during Covid.
The hijacking of Indian Airlines IC-814 held over 170 people captive for eight days. The hijackers inflicted multiple stab wounds on Rupin on Christmas Day, and deplaned his body when the flight landed in Dubai. According to reports, Rupin — the sole fatality in the attack — had one stab wound in the abdomen, four on the chest, two on his neck and six stabs in the face.
The body was eventually cremated in Gurgaon.
Rachna — just 21 then — remained unaware of his death while in captivity. Rupin was barely 27.
Twenty-six years on, the widely circulated image of a devastated Himanshi beside her husband's lifeless body in Pahalgam serves as a stark reminder of terrorism's enduring brutality and its helpless victims.