Indian woman dies trying to escape Nepal hotel set on fire by protesters

ASpiritual trip up to kingdom of nepal turned into a tragedy for a Ghaziabad fellowship after rioters torched a luxuriousness hotel in Kathmandu, leaving a woman dead while dozens of Indian tourists are still stranded.Ramveer Singh Gola (58) and his wife Rajesh Devi (55) had travelled to Kathmandu on September 7 to visit the Pashupatinath temple. But on the night of September 9, their five-star hotel was set ablaze during violent protests.The unrest follows ‘Gen Z-led’ protests on September 8 demanding transparency in governance and lifting of the social media ban. Demonstrators tried to storm parliament, and torched various government and private establishments as the agitation turned violent.Devi’s elder son Vishal recalled the last moments, saying, “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,” as quoted by The Times of India.The rescue teams placed mattresses below the building and urged guests to jump. Ramveer and his wife leapt from the fourth floor. While he survived with minor injuries, Devi suffered severe spinal damage. She died in a Kathmandu hospital on September 10 night.Son recalls last momentsDevi’s elder son Vishal said his parents had been overjoyed after offering prayers at Pashupatinath temple on September 8.“They even video-called us to show Kathmandu’s sights. But on Sept 9 night, chaos erupted. 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,” he told reporters.Vishal alleged that communication blackouts hampered their search.“For two days we didn’t know about their whereabouts. Finally, my father was found in a relief camp, but my mother died in hospital. Embassy support was minimal and local rescue came very late,” he said.Indian tourists rush back homeSpeaking at the Sonauli border, Ramveer, still visibly shaken, said:“We came only to offer prayers at Pashupatinath. But rioters torched our hotel. Thousands of Indian tourists are stranded in Nepal, mostly from Delhi, Rajasthan, MP, Uttarakhand.”The India-Nepal border in Maharajganj witnessed a surge of returning tourists on Wednesday as many cut short their trips amid escalating unrest.Several travellers from Madhya Pradesh described cancelled flights and disrupted journeys.“We had boarded the flight, but it was cancelled. The situation is tense there. The airport is closed. We were a group of 60 senior citizens, so we came back,” said Pramila Saxena, a Bhopal resident.Another tourist, Ashok, said they had to stay in a lodge overnight before returning home. Lata Mishra, also from Bhopal, said their group abandoned plans to visit Pashupatinath temple due to the worsening situation.Rescue efforts for IndiansThe Andhra Pradesh government has stepped up evacuation efforts. On Thursday, 154 boarding passes were issued to stranded Indians in Kathmandu.A charter plane carrying 12 Telugu tourists landed safely in Nepalganj, while another with 10 passengers arrived in Kathmandu from Pokhara. These groups later boarded Indigo flights to India. Earlier in the day, 22 Telugu nationals returned safely, according to state minister Nara Lokesh.