ibune News Service
Palwal/Faridabad, June 21

The mortal remains of Flight Lieutenants Ashish Tanwar (27) and Rajesh Thapa (28), who were among 13 Air Force officers on board AN-32 aircraft that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month, were cremated with full state honours at their native places on Friday.

Tanwar belonged to Palwal’s Deegot village, while Thapa’s family lives in Faridabad.

The bodies of the two Flight Lieutenants, who were pronounced dead on June 13, were brought to their homes in the afternoon.

Residents of Deegot village raised “Ashish Tanwar amar rahe” slogans as the body reached the village around 2 pm. The coffin carrying the body wrapped in Tricolour, was accompanied by Air Force officers and Tanwar’s wife Sandhya, who is a radar officer in the Air Force.

Hundreds of villagers gathered at the cremation ground to pay homage. Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar, Deputy Commissioner Yashpal Yadav and Air Force Group Captain SK Chauhan were among those who laid wreaths to pay tributes to the late officer.

Tanwar’s father Radhey Lal lit the pyre.

In Faridabad, Air Commodore AK Grover led the team that brought Thapa’s body home. Thapa’s family hails from Uttarakhand, but they have been living in Sector 23 here for the past several years. He is survived by his parents, a sister and a brother.

Gurjar and legislators Mool Chand Sharma and Seema Trikha paid tributes by laying wreaths on the body. A gun salute was fired in Thapa’s honour.

Minister pays tributes 

• Residents of Deegot village raised “Ashish Tanwar amar rahe” slogans as the body reached the village around 2 pm
• The coffin carrying the body wrapped in Tricolour, was accompanied by Air Force officers and Tanwar’s wife Sandhya, who is a radar officer in the Air Force
• In Faridabad, Air Commodore AK Grover led the team that brought Rajesh Thapa’s body home
• Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar and MLAs Mool Chand Sharma and Seema Trikha laid wreaths on the body