A religious trip to Nepal turned tragic for a Ghaziabad family after rioters set fire to a luxury hotel in Kathmandu, leaving a woman dead and her husband injured, while several Indian tourists remain stranded.
Ramveer Singh Gola (58) and his wife Rajesh Devi had travelled to Kathmandu on September 7 to visit the Pashupatinath temple. On the night of September 9, violent protesters stormed their five-star hotel and set it ablaze during widespread unrest.
The protests, led by Gen Z demonstrators, erupted on September 8 demanding governance transparency and the lifting of a social media ban. Demonstrators attempted to storm parliament and torched several government and private properties.
Devi’s son Vishal described the family’s ordeal: “The mob stormed the hotel and set it on fire. As the stairways got filled with smoke, my father broke the windowpane, tied sheets and jumped onto a mattress. My mother slipped while trying to climb down and fell heavily on her back.”
Rescue teams had placed mattresses below the building, urging guests to jump. Ramveer survived with minor injuries, while Devi was critically injured and later admitted to a Kathmandu hospital. She died on September 10.
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Her body was brought via the Sonauli border in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj to Ghaziabad on Thursday, with last rites scheduled for Friday. Vishal alleged that communication blackouts hampered their search for his parents and claimed the Indian embassy provided “minimal” support.
Indian Pilgrims Stranded as Violence Spreads
The unrest has disrupted life in Nepal, forcing many Indian tourists to cut short their trips. At the India-Nepal border in Maharajganj, large numbers of pilgrims were seen returning.
A group of ten pilgrims from Muzaffarnagar, including local BJP leader Sunil Kumar Tayal, have been confined to their hotel for three days and sought assistance from state minister Kapil Dev Aggarwal. Meanwhile, 14 people from Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, also remain stuck in Kathmandu, with reports that their hotel has run out of food. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav assured efforts were underway to bring them back safely.
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The Andhra Pradesh government has stepped up evacuation measures. On Thursday, 154 boarding passes were issued to stranded Indians in Kathmandu. A chartered plane carrying 12 Telugu tourists landed in Nepalganj, while another with 10 passengers arrived in Kathmandu from Pokhara. These groups later boarded Indigo flights to India. State minister Nara Lokesh confirmed that 22 Telugu nationals had already returned safely.
