Amreli (Gujarat), June 14 – In a deeply tragic turn of events, 36-year-old Arjun Patolia, a resident of Vadia village in Gujarat’s Amreli district and a British citizen, was among the 241 victims who lost their lives in the devastating Air India plane crash on Thursday. Arjun had returned to India with a solemn purpose — to immerse the ashes of his late wife, Bharti, in the sacred Narmada River.
Bharti had passed away just two weeks earlier in London after a prolonged illness. Arjun, who had been living in London with his wife and their two daughters aged four and eight, had performed her funeral rites there before travelling to India to fulfill her final wish.
According to his brother Sanjay Patolia, after completing the rituals near Vadodara, Arjun was en route to board his return flight from Ahmedabad when tragedy struck. “Soon after the plane took off, we received the heartbreaking news of the crash. We are shattered,” Sanjay said with a choked voice.
Arjun’s sudden death has left his young daughters orphaned. “Both girls are currently staying with close relatives in London,” Sanjay added.
What began as a journey of closure and devotion ended in unimaginable sorrow. The Air India flight, which crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, has claimed hundreds of lives and left families like Arjun’s in grief and despair.
