Ambala, April 6
The body of Jaguar fighter pilot Flt Lt Mayank Mayur was consigned to flames amidst heart-rending scenes here this morning at Ram Bagh in Ambala Sadar. The ceremonial funeral parade was held and a solitary bugler sounded the last post. A contingent of the Air Force personnel fired three rounds in the air as a mark of respect for the late officer.
Wreaths were placed on the pilot’s body on behalf of Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy, AOC-in-C, Western Air Command, and other top
officials.
The pyre was lit by Air Commodore SP Tiwari, who is Flt Lt Mayank Mayur’s uncle and serving at the Air Headquarters in New Delhi.
Air Commodore Tiwari said that Flt Lt Mayank Mayur was a bright officer. “He had joined the National Defence Academy from where he went to the Air Force Academy. After flying MiG 21, he went on to fly Jaguars,” he said.
Mr Pawan Mishra, who had studied with Flt Lt Mayank Mayur as well as Captain Manoj Pandey, a Param Vir Chakra awardee, said that he had lost his buddies. “We learnt about this incident from television. As a matter of fact, when a MiG-21 recently crashed, I called him up and advised him to take care of himself. He gave a philosophical reply via an SMS on my mobile phone. Mayank always wanted to become a pilot,” he said.
Ms Mohini Pandey, mother of Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Manoj Pandey, said that she was shocked to hear about the death of Flt Lt Mayank Mayur. “Mayank was like my son,” she said, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Ms Pandey recalled that her son and Flt Lt Mayank Mayur had been good friends since their student days in Sainik School. “Ever since Captain Manoj Pandey made the supreme sacrifice, Flt Lt Mayank Mayur used to make extra efforts to keep in touch with us. Whenever Mayank would come to Lucknow, he would always meet me,” she said.
