Twin tragedies in 18 days: Two little girls lose mother to cancer, father to Ahmedabad crash
Kanchan Patoliya, 62, was on her way to Surat from Ahmedabad, where she had gone to see off her grieving son Arjun, 37, a British national who had come to Gujarat to immerse the ashes of his wife who died of cancer, when her nephew called and asked her to get down at Vadodara and wait for him.
Only minutes ago, the family had learnt about the Air India Ahmedabad-London plane crash near the airport.
Within hours, Kanchan was back in Ahmedabad, this time to give her DNA sample to identify the body of her dead son at the civil hospital.
Arjun was flying back to London on June 12 to be with his daughters Riya, 8 and Kiya, 4. The two girls lost both her parents in a span of 18 days, said the grieving grandmother.
'I was in shock after learning about the death of my elder son in the plane crash. His wife, Bharti (35) died due to cancer on May 26. Now both his daughters have become orphans. Arjun had left both the girls at his younger brother Gopal's place before coming to India with the remains (ashes) of his wife, whose wish was to immerse them in the Narmada river,' said Kanchan.
'Either I or my younger son will now take care of Arjun's daughters,' an inconsolable Kanchan told The Indian Express. Arjun's younger brother Gopal has been married for eight years and is settled in London. The couple has no children.
'I gave my blood samples for a DNA test to identify the body of my son at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on June 12. Gopal arrived at Ahmedabad on Friday evening. Once we complete all the rituals, we will sit down and decide the future of both girls. If needed, I will fly to London to stay at my younger son's place and take care of my granddaughters,' said Kanchan.
The Patoliyas hail from Wadiya village in Amreli district. They moved to Surat a long time ago. Kanchan's husband, Ramesh Patoliya, ran a garment shop and Arjun studied at a Gurukul school run by the Swaminarayan sect at Katargam. The family has their own house in Katargam and Wadiya. After the death of Ramesh Patoliya, Kanchan ran a shop to meet the family's financial needs.
Arjun had been settled in London for 17 years and held British citizenship, running a furniture shop there. He got married to Bharti, who hailed from Kutch in Gujarat.
Sources said that Gopal got married to a Patidar girl in Surat in 2017, and the couple moved to London in 2023. Kanchan would sometimes stay in Surat and sometimes at her house in Wadiya village. Arjun and Gopal were staying together in the same house in London and were running the same furniture business, said the sources.
A relative of Kanchan told The Indian Express, 'We learnt about the plane crash through social media. My aunt's nephew, Nilkesh, called her and told to getdown at Vadodara as he knew that there would be a DNA test and Arjun's mother's samples would be required. Nilkesh reached Vadodara and took my aunt, Kanchanben, to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where she gave her blood samples and then returned to Wadiya village.'
'The DNA test has confirmed Arjun's death and we have started the preparations for his last rites. THere will be a family meeting to decide who will get the custody of the two daughters of Arjun. The eldest one, Riya, studies at a London school. We are all waiting for Arjun's body to be handed over to us,' said the relative.
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