IAF Squadron Leader Ninad Mandavgane, Martyred in Budgam Crash, Laid To Rest With Full Military Honours; Wife Asks People to ‘Better Act Than Chanting Slogans’
Wife of IAF Squadron Leader Ninad Mandavgane asks people to ‘better act than chanting slogans’ during the last rites in Nasik.
Nashik, March 2: The last rites of Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Ninad Mandavgane were performed at Amardham Crematorium in Nashik on Friday with full state honours. While people chanted of slogans for the martyr – whose Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed in Jammu and Kashmir’ Budgam district along with five other Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel – his wife Vijeta said that if they (people) want to make any difference, they should ‘better act than chanting slogans’.
Appealing the people – chanting slogans and screaming ‘Zindabad’ – to join forces, she said, as reported by TOI, “Slogan-shouting and screaming ‘zindabad’ or ‘murdabad’ will not make any difference. If you really want to do something, join the defence forces. Or encourage someone in your family to do so. If that is not possible, small things could help – keep your surroundings clean, don’t litter, don’t urinate in the open, and do not harass women. Stop spreading communal hatred. Small gestures go a long way.” IAF Wing Commander Sidharth Vashisht, Martyred in Budgam Crash, Laid To Rest With Full Military Honours; In Uniform, His Wife Pays Tribute To Him.
People in large number gathered at the crematorium to bid adieu to the pilot who died in the line of duty, when his helicopter crashed while it was on a sortie. Both the government of India and Pakistan have clarified that the crash was nowhere related to the action by Pakistani forces.
Earlier, the last rites of Wing Commander Sidharth Vashisht were performed in Chandigarh on Friday with full military honours. He was one of the IAF personnel in boards the helicopter. Along with these two IAF personnel, Sergeant Vikrant Sherawat, Corporal Deepak Pandey, Corporal Pankaj Kumar and engineer Vishal Kumar Pandey were in the helicopter when it crashed.
One civilian was also killed in the crash. According to reports, the crashed helicopter land in the fields of Budgam, where a local, identified as 20-year-old Kifayat Hussain, was caught in the explosion following the crash.
The accident occurred at 10:10 am on the morning of February 27, at a time when the IAF was responding to the air space violation by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Mi-17 V5 is a transport chopper. Initially, there were rumours that the ill-fated Mi-17 chopper was attacked by the PAF which crossed the Line of Control on Wednesday.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 02, 2019 11:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).