Pimpri Chinchwad bids emotional adieu to Irfan Shaikh who died in Ahmedabad plane crash

THE FUNERAL of 22-year-old Irfan Shaikh, the cabin crew member who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12 was held in Nehrunagar area of Pimpri Chinchwad on Saturday morning. A large number of residents had turned up for the funeral. There were moist eyes, glum faces and each one seemed to feel proud of the young man whose life was cut short by the plane crash.
Since most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the medical officials had to match Irfan's DNA samples with those of his close relatives. 'The DNA samples of Irfan's mother, brother and father were taken by the medical team in Ahmedabad. In most of the cases, they were taking three-four DNA samples,' said Azhar Khan, a close relative.
Irfan was a resident of Sant Tukaram Nagar area in Pimpri Chinchwad. He did his schooling from Dr D Y Patil School, Pimpri and passed Class 12 from Jaihind college. After that he did an aviation course from Pune City.
Khan said the Air India looked after the relatives till the bodies of their loved ones were identified. 'They even ensured that bodies were brought home by plane…Irfan's body arrived home at 7.30 am,' he said.
Irfan had joined Air India as cabin crew member two years back. 'He initially worked with Vistara… When he got into Air India, he was very happy,' said Azhar Khan.
Among the family members, Irfan's mother was most affected. 'She has still not recovered from the shock. Irfan was very close to her. He used to regularly update her about his duty schedule. For a mother, losing a young child is a shock which is still difficult to describe,' he said.
The relatives said Irfan was ambitious and wanted to achieve something big in his career. 'He wanted to scale new heights in his career. Whenever we met, he always spoke about making a big career in airlines. Last time we met was after Eid. He had come to my home in Yerawada,' said Azhar.
Ujwal Bhagat, a classmate of Irfan at Dr D Y Patil school, said, 'When Irfan had got his first job, he was very excited. He came to the school with pedhas to distribute it among the students and his teachers who taught him,' he said.
Former Pimpri Chinchwad mayor Yogesh Behl said, 'Irfan was the shining star of our area. He had got a job as cabin crew member at such a young age. He had set an example for other youngsters to emulate. His death is indeed shocking and difficult to digest.'
Behl, however, lamented that the media has not taken proper cognisance of the death of Irfan. 'He was not just a crew member. He was son of a mother…It is regrettable that television channels did not highlight his death like they did for other staff of the Air India who died in the plane crash. Till his last breath, he was serving the passengers and Air India. But nobody thought it fit to pay glowing tributes to him…He was our true Hero…,' he said, a view echoed by several residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Advocate Sushil Mancharkar said, 'Irfan died like other passengers and the staff. He was just 22 and had great future for him. He was the 'ladla' of his mother and was popular in the neighbourhood and among his friends. His death at such a young age is very unfortunate. He died while doing his duty. We are all proud of him,' he said.
Varsha Jagtap, also a resident of Sant Tukaram, said, 'Irfan came from a poor family, had just started doing good in life and was supporting his family. At a young age he struggled a lot for his family's sake but had a great future ahead. As a resident of Sant Tukaram Nagar, I am proud of Irfan. Like me, everyone in our area feels the same.'

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