Body of soldier recovered 56 years after IAF plane crash to be handed over to family in Uttarakhand
New Delhi: Fifty-six years after his death in an Indian Air Force plane crash, the body of soldier Narayan Singh will be returned to his ancestral village in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, on Thursday, where it will be received by his extended family.
Narayan Singh was among the four crew members on board the IAF AN-12 transport plane that crashed into snow-covered mountains near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh on February 7, 1968. The aircraft, which was carrying 102 passengers including crew members, crashed almost 16,000 feet above sea level near the Dhaka glacier.
Earlier this week, a joint team of the Indian Army’s Dogra Scouts and representatives from Tiranga Mountain Rescue recovered the remains of four individuals from the crash site. Singh’s body was identified through a paybook found in his pocket.
Singh served as a sepoy in the Army Medical Corps (AMC). His address at Kolpudi village in Chamoli was traced through records, and his extended family was informed about the discovery. His stepson, Jaiveer Singh, shared that Narayan was the lone child of his parents and had died a couple of years after marrying Basanti Devi.
Narayan and Basanti had no children. His family was informed of the crash through a telegram in February 1968, but received no further communication regarding him. A few years later, Narayan’s parents arranged Basanti’s marriage with Bhawan Singh, Narayan’s first cousin. Jaiveer, one of the seven children born from Basanti’s marriage with Bhawan, recalled how his mother, who passed away in 2011, would share memories of Narayan.
“I want to ask the Indian Army why my mother never received any compensation or pension. If she had some money for survival, she might not have remarried,” Jaiveer questioned, adding that he was initially reluctant to receive the body but later accepted it in memory of his late mother.
The remains of two other individuals found at the crash site have also been identified. Sepoy Malkhan Singh from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was identified through a voucher found in his pocket, while Craftsman Thomas Charan from the Army’s Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers was identified through documents. Malkhan Singh’s grandchildren performed the last rites with full military honours. Charan’s mother, Eleama, has been informed of his discovery.
An official stated that while documents recovered from the fourth body have not conclusively identified the individual, his next of kin have been notified. The deceased’s wife Parvati Devi and his father Netram have been informed of the discovery.
The wreckage of the AN-12 plane was first discovered in 2003 by mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering. Since then, the Indian Army’s Dogra Scouts have led several search missions, recovering a total of five bodies by 2019. The latest expedition, named the ChandraBhaga Mountain Expedition, has now recovered four more bodies, bringing renewed hope to the families of the deceased.
“The ChandraBhaga Expedition has once again demonstrated the Indian Army’s relentless determination to bring closure to families, even after half a century,” the officials said, adding that the search for the remains of other passengers continues as the expedition persists in its mission until October 10.
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Agra: Teacher dies of heart attack after fraudsters' call regarding her daughter's 'sex scandal'
Agra, Oct 3: A government school teacher in Agra died due to cardiac arrest after she allegedly got a call from cyber fraudsters that her daughter was caught in a sex scandal, her family claimed on Thursday.
On September 30, the fraudsters allegedly threatened the teacher and demanded Rs one lakh to not disclose the matter, the family further said.
Talking to PTI, Deepanshu Rajput, the deceased's son said, "Mother Malti Verma (58) was a government teacher at a Junior High School in Achhnera in Agra. On September 30, she got a Whatsapp call at 12 pm in which they said that her daughter was caught in a sex scandal and began threatening her for the future consequences of revealing her daughter's identity."
The caller posed as police inspector, Rajput added.
"After that, she talked to me over phone and informed me about the call. But when I checked the phone number, I told my mother that it was a fraud call from cyber criminals," he added.
"After that I also talked to my sister and found everything normal. I asked my mother not to worry because she was a victim of cyber fraud, but she could not control her tension and her health deteriorated after that call," he added.
"As she returned home after school, she also complained of chest pain and anxiety. When her health began deteriorating, we took her to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead due to cardiac arrest," he said.
Anandveer Singh, Jagdishpura police station in-charge, told PTI, "We have received a complaint in this case from the family. Action will be taken accordingly."
