Not surprisingly, Ashish and his wife Shamita (who's pregnant) remained unavailable for comment.
But good friend Celina Jaitley who's in Rajasthan couldn't get over the tragedy. "Almost everyone in that restaurant Tiffins at the Trident-Oberoi including his sister and brother-in-law was gunned down. It was the first venue of mayhem for the terrorists when they entered the Oberoi."
However Ashish and his family remained hopeful.
"One girl from his sister's dinner group had run out and somehow fled from the attack out of the hotel. However she was heavily sedated and Ashish couldn't get any information from her and kept hoping against hope, "says Celina.
Apparently on Thursday Ashish ended up getting the wrong information from the Helpline services.
Says Celina, "Poor Ashish. He rushed to the hospital, only to see it wasn't his sister. His hopes were even more dashed as hours turned into days."
With the confirmation coming in a pall of gloom has descended on Ashish's household. The actor's mother has taken the only daughter's death very badly.
Says Celina, "I didn't know Ashish's sister that well. But I know that they all doted on her and her husband. What a terrible tragedy. Where will all this end?"
Exactly the question being asked by everyone.