Dead fighter pilot's father reiterates CBI probe demand

Over four months after Flight Lieutenant S. Achudev's death in a fighter jet crash, his parents on Tuesday urged new Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a CBI probe to bring out the truth behind the mishap.

Retired Indian Space Research Organisation scientist V.P. Sahadevan said their agony over the loss of their 26-year-old son continued since they could not perform his funeral rites as Dev's mortal remains had not yet been received by the family.

"It's going to be five months since we lost our son. We request authorities to give us evidence in the case -- conversation between my son and Air Traffic Controller, where the aircraft was last seen, and details of items recovered from the crash scene. This is our right. Moreover, we continue to believe he is missing since we have not got his mortal remains," Sahadevan told IANS.

He said he had raised a demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe in June and he had reiterated the same to the new Minister in his letter.

"She is also a mother. We want justice and we want our demands to be met. So, we have written again to the new Minister. My wife has still not recovered after the crash," he said.

Flight Lieutenant Achudev and Squadron Leader D. Pankaj were on board the Sukhoi-30 fighter jet which went missing during a routine training mission on May 23 in Doulasang area of Arunachal Pradesh. The plane's wreckage was detected on May 26, following which the Indian Air Force declared the two pilots dead.

On June 2, Sahadevan claimed, he was handed over an empty coffin, which he took to the state capital. Next day, he took it to his home town in Kozhikode and conducted the funeral ceremony.

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran also wrote a letter to Sitharaman on Tuesday to ask for speeding up action on the bereaved family's demands.

--IANS

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