FLIGHT Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav, who was killed in the Jaguar fighter jet crash in Gujarat, was cremated with full military honours at his native Majra Bhalkhi village in Haryana’s Rewari district on Friday. Yadav (28) died in the aircraft crash incident near the Jamnagar IAF station on Wednesday night. Having recently got engaged, he was to get married in November this year, his family said. The pilot belonged to a family of ex-servicemen, with his father Sushil Yadav having served in the IAF and grandfather and great-grandfather also having served in the Army. His mortal remains arrived in Rewari before being taken to his native village.

 

A large number of people, including several ex-servicemen carrying the tricolour in their hands, stood on roads showering flower petals as the vehicle carrying the IAF officer’s mortal remains passed through. The IAF personnel offered a gun salute as his mortal remains were consigned to flames. Former Haryana minister Banwari Lal, BJP MLA from Bawal in Rewari district, Krishan Kumar, thousands of locals, Indian Air Force (IAF) officers, members of the armed forces, police officers, gathered to salute the IAF officer as his family members bid a tearful adieu.

 

The pilot is survived by his father, mother and a younger sister. Yadav’s fiancee was inconsolable at the cremation. “Show me his face once,” she pleaded. His mother Sushila Devi told reporters that she would urge every mother to definitely send their sons to join the forces. Holding a picture of his son in her hands, she said she was proud that she had given birth to a braveheart. She said she had sent her son to join the IAF to serve his motherland.