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Another honeymoon couple aboard Flight 814

Yet another honeymooning couple is among the hostages in the hijacked Indian Airlines plane now grounded at Kandahar airport.

Ipsita (24) had married Bipin Menon, an assistant commissioner (exports and imports) in the commerce ministry in New Delhi on December 11. They had set out on a five-day honeymoon to the Himalayan kingdom on December 20.

While Menon (30), from Kerala, is on probation, Ipsita, born, brought up and educated in Cuttack, had joined the HKDET dental college and hospital at Humnabad, about 120 km from Hyderabad, as lecturer (prosthetics) about three months ago.

Dr Pramod Kumar Biswal, eldest brother of Ipsita told UNI that the entire family is in a state of shock after hearing about the hijacking. The family had planned a grand reception at the Deula Sahi residence here next week on the return of the couple from their honeymoon.

According to Dr Itishree Pradhan, Ipsita's bosom friend, classmate and now a colleague at the same dental college at Humnabad, the couple had finalised Kathmandu for their honeymoon rejecting the other choice, Shimla.

''My visist to Cuttack was for a dual purpose, to appear for my post graduate entrance exam on January 2 as well as to attend Ipsita's reception to which she had invited me on her wedding day,'' Itishree said.

Dr Biswal said, ''We are against terrorism in any form, whatsoever, But the Central government must expeditiously hammer out a solution to this imbroglio.''

The fifth and the last child in the family, Ipsita is a highly affectionate and studious girl, he said. ''We have no other option but to keep a round-the-clock vigil on the TV news and pray to the almighty for curtains to come down on this inhumanly horrific hijacking incident,'' he added.

Meanwhile, all the other family members of the couple who had gathered in New Delhi for the marriage, are still waiting there anxiously and impatiently for their safe release.

According to informed sources, Bipin Menon is the only son of A K Menon, a retired senior journalist of The Times of India.

UNI

NIGHTMARE ON FLIGHT 814
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