Kolkata: Umed Rupani (76), elder brother of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani (68), was left shattered by a phone call from a relative in Gujarat that informed him of Air India's Ahmedabad-London flight crash, an hour after the aircraft exploded into flames. For the last 25 years, the Rupani family has been staying in Kolkata, on the top floor of a multi-storied building on Kalighat Road. Vijaybhai Ramniklalbhai Rupani, who served as the 16th chief minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021, was on the ill-fated Boeing B-787 Dreamliner along with 241 co-passengers. Three of his other brothers used to stay in Kolkata, and he would visit them. Vijaybhai was in Kolkata was two years ago."A week ago, we had a long chat when Vijay said he will leave India on June 12 to meet his daughter Radhika," Umed said. Vijay Rupani was in Punjab before he returned to Ahmedabad and took the flight to UK. His daughter and son-in-law have been living there for the past five years. Vijay's relative Sailesh, who stays on Harish Chatterjee Street, not far from Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence, is in shock. "I was praying for him after we heard about the crash and we were hoping he would make it. The news of his death has left us devastated," said Sailesh who rushed home from his automobile parts shop in Bhowanipur after hearing the news. Sailesh's father Chandrakant, the youngest of the Rupani brothers, passed away in 2017. Sachin, Umed's son, who has a wholesale business of pipes in Burrabazar, also returned home to support his family. "Another cousin who stays in Ahmedabad rushed to the spot and then the hospital," he said.The Rupani family members are in constant touch with their relatives living in Gujarat.
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