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As Tarishi Jain Begins Her Final Journey, Friends Remember Her As A 'Passionate, Beautiful Person'

As Tarishi Jain Begins Her Final Journey, Friends Remember Her As A 'Passionate, Beautiful Person'
PTI

The body of 19-year-old Tarishi Jain, who was hacked to death by militants at a Dhaka restaurant, was today handed over to her family for the last rites, even as grieving friends and teachers remembered her as a "passionate" person who deeply cared about human rights.

Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner TL Satyaprakash and other officials received Tarishi's mortal remains at Delhi's IGI Airport, ANI reported. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, along with others, paid tribute to her at the community centre in DLF Phase-I, Gurugram.

The mood at the community centre was somber with relatives crying inconsolably. The minister was also seen consoling the aggrieved family members.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted yesterday that Jain's mortal remains will reach Delhi by a Jet Airways flight on 4 July and be taken by her family to Ferozabad in Uttar Pradesh as per the wishes of her family.

The mortal remains will reach Delhi by Jet Airways on Monday 4th July. This is with concurrence of Tarishi's father. /3 @15saloni2626

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 2, 2016

The family will take the mortal remains to Ferozabad (UP). /4 @15saloni2626

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 2, 2016

Jain had graduated from the American International School in Dhaka, and began studying at the University of California Berkeley last year. Berkeley officials said she intended to major in economics. The university said in a statement that since early June she had been in Dhaka on an internship at Eastern Bank Limited working on e-commerce growth.

"We are all very devastated," Sanchita Saxena, executive director of the California university's Institute for South Asia Studies and director of its Center for Bangladesh Studies, told Reuters.

"She was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart. Our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and the entire Berkeley community," she said.

She was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart.

"She had the brightest smile and such a positive energy that was contagious to people around her," wrote student Vanessa Kim.

Jain's father is a textile merchant based in Dhaka for the last 15-20 years and was among relatives and friends who rushed to the scene of the attack in hope of news of their loved ones.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi American and two Bangladeshis were killed in the terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan on Friday night. Besides 20 people, two senior police officers -- Banani Police Station officer-in-charge Salauddin Ahmed Khan and Detective Branch Assistant Commissioner Robiul Islam -- were killed while trying to rescue the hostages.

The bodies of the victims were recovered during a search in the Bakery compound after the operation.

"I met her on the first day of college at Berkeley… Tarishi was a beautiful person. She was one of my best friends at Berkeley," a friend of Jain was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

I remember she used to always tell me she was so passionate about this club because it was for such a great cause and she felt like she was making a difference.

From the outpouring of grief, emerges the portrait of a young woman who cared deeply about poverty, lived passionately and was loved by her friends and family. Jain was part of a student-run club, 'EthiCAL', at the University of California.

"I remember she used to always tell me she was so passionate about this club because it was for such a great cause and she felt like she was making a difference,” the friend told the paper.

An Indian diplomat in Dhaka described the cafe as Delhi's Khan Market, teeming with restaurants and cafes the national capital's expat community regularly visits.

(With inputs from agencies)

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