An air of desolation surrounds those who knew Ashok Kumar Tripathi, his former wife Vaibhavi Bandekar, and their children, 22-year-old son Dhanush, and 15-year-old daughter Ritika, who were onboard the Tara Air aircraft that crashed in Nepal.
The family of four is now suspected to have died in an unfathomable tragedy.
On Sunday, when Mumbai police officials reached out to Vaibhavi Bandekar's elder sister, Sanjeevani Sadani, they were requested not to say anything about the incident to their mother, who is already in a fragile state of health.
Vaibhavi, Children Lived in Thane; Ashok Ran a Company in Odisha
Ashok Tripathi, a 54-year-old who ran a company in Odisha had separated from his wife, Vaibhavi Bandekar, who worked in a firm at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, news agency PTI reported.
As per officials, the address on Vaibhavi's passport reportedly indicated that she lived in Bhushan Park View Society in Borivali's Chikuwadi. However, the flat was found to be placed on rent.
Later, the police established that the family were residents of Thane, in an area located under the jurisdiction of Kapurbawdi police station.
Sadani, Vaibhavi's elder sister, stayed in a nearby area with their mother, PTI quoted an official as saying.
'Dropped Them at the Airport Two Days Ago': Driver Expresses Shock
"I have lost everything," said Ashish Sawant, who was employed as a driver for the Tripathi family for the last seven years.
The anguished 29-year-old hailing from Thane's Diva said that he used to drop Vaibhavi to her office everyday. "It was just two days back that I had dropped the family to the Mumbai international airport and today I received this shocking news," PTI quoted him as saying.
Local authorities in Thane city informed that the family was going to visit the Muktidham temple, a Vaishnavite shrine in Nepal.
Sawant also reportedly added that they had purchased a new car two months ago.
Meanwhile, Sunil Chalke, who was serving as the watchman of the building, described the family as very loving, adding that it was 'sad that they were part of this tragedy'.
(With inputs from PTI, Jagran English, The Indian Express and ANI.)
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