Mortal remains of IAF personnel consigned to flames in Punjab, Haryana

Mortal remains of three IAF personnel who died in a plane crash in Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month, were consigned to flames at their native places in Punjab and Haryana Friday.

Flight Lieutenants Mohit Garg (27), Ashish Tanwar (29) and airman Pankaj Sangwan were among the 13 people on board the AN-32 aircraft that had crashed on June 3, about 30 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam.

While Mohit belonged to Samana in Punjab's Patiala, Ashish hailed from Palwal district in Haryana.

Airman Pankaj Sangwan belonged to Sonipat in Haryana.

Their mortal remains were consigned to flames with full state honours at their native places.

All 13 people on board the AN-32 aircraft were declared dead after a team of rescuers had found the wreckage of the plane in a heavily forested mountainous terrain.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed Friday after mortal remains of the flight lieutenants and airman, draped in the Tricolor, were taken to their native places.

Their family members were inconsolable.

In Patiala, Punjab cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla paid tributes to Flight Lieutenant Mohit Garg, along with senior IAF officers, police personnel and officials.

Slogans such as 'Mohit Amar Rahe', 'Jab Tak Suraj Chand Rahega, Mohit Tera Naam Rahega' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' were raised when the mortal remains were being taken to the cremation ground.

Relatives of Garg cried inconsolably as the mortal remains in a coffin were kept to pay the last respects.

The pyre was lit by Mohit's younger brother Ashwani Garg.

Mohit had got married a year ago and his wife Astha was posted in a bank in Assam.

Meanwhile, sombre mood prevailed at Deeghot village of Palwal and Kohla village in Sonipat, where the last rites of Flight Lieutenant Ashish Tanwar and airman Pankaj Sangwan, respectively, took place.

Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar, who is the Faridabad MP, paid respects to Lieutenant Ashish Tanwar, along with district officials, in Palwal.

The Indian Air Force Thursday completed the task of retrieving bodies of all its 13 personnel from the crash site in the Pari mountains of Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh.

While six bodies were retrieved Wednesday, the remaining seven were recovered Thursday.

The plane had remained untraceable till June 11, when its wreckage was located in the Pari mountains.