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Time of India
12 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
‘How do I talk, he's in box': Mother of AI's Shaikh mourns as body arrives
Pune: As a sombre crowd gathered at Sant Tukaramnagar in Pimpri on Saturday to bid a final farewell to 22-year-old , a crew member of the ill-fated Air India plane that crashed moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad on June 12, his mother, Taslim, sat frozen in grief, clinging to the coffin containing her son's lifeless body, her eyes fixed and hands trembling as if unwilling to let go of her child. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now With relatives and her husband Samir trying to console her, Taslim gazed at the coffin and murmured, "How do I talk to him? He's in the box." The family performed the last rites at the Hazrat Bilal Eidgah cemetery in Nehrunagar, Pimpri Chinchwad, around 10am. Irfan's mortal remains were handed over to the family late Friday evening after DNA confirmation. The family brought the body to Pune airport around 7am on Saturday. A large crowd comprising relatives, friends and politicians from various parties gathered to pay their respects. The 22-year-old, who was very attached to his mother, made it a point to call his mother before every takeoff and after every landing. Having spoken to her before the ill-fated flight took off, the family knew he was on board when the crash occurred. Upon hearing the about the crash, the family rushed to Ahmedabad that evening, but the DNA matching process delayed the handover of his body, relative Taher said. Azhar Khan, another relative, said Taslim was still in a state of deep shock. "She has not shed a single tear, she is still in trauma," he said, adding that she continued to dial Irfan's phone number, clinging to the hope that he might somehow respond. "Taslim's silence is concerning us," Azhar said. Irfan, a dedicated aviation professional, joined Air Vistara as cabin crew nearly two years ago after completing training in Pune. He initially flew domestic routes and later transitioned to international flights after Vistara merged with Air India. Tragically, his third day back on duty after a short break to celebrate Bakri Eid with his family in Pune turned out to be his last.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Mortal remains of Shaikh to arrive today
Pune: The mortal remains of Irfan Shaikh , the 22-year-old crew member who tragically died aboard Air India flight 171 after it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, will arrive in Pune on Saturday. Family members confirmed that Irfan's DNA matched with his father's samples, and hospital authorities in Ahmedabad are expected to hand over the body late on Friday. Irfan's uncle, Firoz, informed TOI that the flight carrying the remains is scheduled to depart Ahmedabad around 5.40am and is expected to reach Pune by 7am. His last rites will be performed at Nehrunagar in Pimpri around 9am. "Initially, the DNA samples of Irfan's brother Amir were taken, but we did not receive any updates," Firoz said. "Yesterday (on Thursday), health officials collected samples from his father, Samir, and we were informed on Friday that the samples matched. The hospital will complete the handover procedure by late tonight." A resident of Sant Tukaram Nagar in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Irfan joined the aviation industry two years ago after completing a cabin crew training course at a private institute in Pune. He began his career with Air Vistara, working on domestic routes, and following the airline's merger with Air India, he was deployed on international flights. Irfan's father, Samir, runs a small shop at Sant Tukaram Nagar, while his mother is a homemaker. His elder brother, Amir, works in the IT sector. The tragic crash claimed the lives of 241 out of 242 people on board. As many as 29 MBBS students of BJ Medical College also died in the accident when the plane struck the hostel complex. The plane's black box, which includes the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder, was found on the rooftop of the mess building in the medical college campus.
