Two little girls in London, aged just eight and four, have been orphaned in an unimaginable sequence of tragedies that unfolded over just 18 days. What began as a period of mourning for the loss of their mother has now deepened into a tragedy no child should face, the loss of both parents in less than a month.
Their father, 37-year-old Arjun Patoliya, died in the Ahmedabad-bound AI-171 plane crash while returning to London after carrying out his late wife¡¯s final rites. Bharti, his wife, succumbed to cancer on 26 May. Her last wish was for her ashes to be immersed in India, a wish Arjun honoured with great devotion.
After performing the rituals at the sacred Narmada River in Poicha and their ancestral village in Amreli district, Arjun was on his way back to London when the tragic crash took his life. The girls, who had only just started processing their mother¡¯s death, are now left without both parents.
Arjun¡¯s life was shaped by hardship from a young age. He lost his father in 1990 and was raised by his mother in Surat, who sold household items to sustain the family. Arjun pursued education up to Grade 12 at Swaminarayan Gurukul before moving to the UK at 20, where he built a life and family.
In London, he ran a furniture business and met Bharti, an accountant. They created a home, filled with love and dreams, raising their two daughters together.
Arjun¡¯s cousin Sanjay shared the heartbreak the family is facing, stating how no one imagined they would be preparing for Arjun¡¯s final rites just days after gathering for Bharti¡¯s. His mother, now residing in Surat, has provided a DNA sample to help authorities identify Arjun¡¯s remains and bring him home to Vadiya for cremation.
Arjun¡¯s younger brother, Gopal, also living in London, has now taken responsibility for raising the two girls, who must now grow up with only memories of the parents who loved them dearly.