Chopper Crash: Families Share Memories as Home They Brought the Soldiers Dead

Family and friends prepare for the funerals of the defence personnel who died in Coonoor helicopter crash.

From JWO A Pradeep's family in Kerala to Brigadier LS Lidder's friends in New Delhi, gloom has descended on the country after Coonoor IAF helicopter crash that took 13 lives. 

(Image: Aroop Mishra\The Quint)

At his Ponnukkara home in Thrissur district of Kerala, A Radhakrishan remained a stoic father, speaking in muted sentences. He told The Quint, “I thought my time has come. But his time came first.” Radhakrishnan’s son, 37-year-old A Pradeep, a Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) was killed on 8 December, as Indian Air Force’s Mi17 V5 chopper crashed at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

Radhakrishan, 65, who was admitted in the ICU of a private hospital due to age related ailments, had taken a discharge only on 6 December, two days before he heard of his son’s demise. Thirteen persons including the Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat have died in the crash.

JWO Pradeep's father A Radhakrishnan. 

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Shops Shut in Honour, Families Mourn from Kerala to Delhi

On 9 December, friends and families of the fallen defence personnel grieved as they arranged for the funerals of the soldiers who fell. Most were in shock, unable to stomach the tragedy. Others remembered the service the fallen soldiers had paid the country.

JWO A Pradeep

(Photo: Twitter)

In Thrissur district, for instance, mourning was complete with some shops downing their shutters in honour of JWO Pradeep. “My brother joined the Air Force 18 years ago. He was the first in the family to join the defence service. My father was a daily-wage farm worker,” said A Prasad, 35-year-old brother of the soldier, as he wept inconsolably. Pradeep who is survived by his wife, Sreelakshmi and children Dakshin Dev and Dev Prayag, had served in anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh and flood relief in Kerala.

Over 2,624 kilometers away from Thrissur, in New Delhi, a former officer Nihal Chauhan remembered his dear friend ‘Harry’, as Lt Col Harjinder Singh was popularly known.

Lt Col Harjinder Singh

“I want everyone to know him for the amazing person he was and not relegate him to a mere statistic,” Chauhan told The Quint. Singh was commissioned in the Gorkha Rifles in 1999. Lt Col Singh was exceptionally kind and had an ever-radiant smile, even though he had lost his parents at a young age.

“He was raised by his uncle. I don’t think he ever got over their (parents’) loss but was determined to channel that sadness into being a fine officer and gentleman,” Chauhan reminisced. Singh is survived by his wife, Agnes and a daughter, Preet. Remembering the officer who was a devoted father, Chauhan said, Harjinder Singh wanted his teenage daughter to realise her dreams and “get all the opportunities that he had not got.”

“While his daughter was still in her middle school, he was determined to enable her to travel the world,” Nihal Chauhan rued. Harjinder Singh was posted in Siachen and had also been part of the United Nation’s Peace Keeping mission.

The funeral arrangements of both the officers are being made by their families in their respective hometowns.

The bodies were transported from Wellington hospital in Coonoor to Chennai and then to respective Army and Air Force bases. Meanwhile, in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh Lance Naik B Sai Teja’s family remained inconsolable.

From Officers to Soldiers, Grief Looms in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana

B Mahesh, Sai Teja’s brother told The Quint from Kurabalakota, “He was supposed to come home for holidays in a few months.” Teja, 28, was Personal Security Officer of Rawat. He is survived by his wife, Shyamala and two children who are toddlers. His father Mohan said, “We never expected him to join defence service because we are farmers. But he was very passionate about the uniform.”

Teja’s funeral will be held at his village, Eguva Regada, where a thousands have gathered to get a last glimpse of the fallen soldier. “People have been pouring in from all places just to greet us. But we have lost him and nothing can replace him,” Mahesh said.

While Teja’s family is still to come to terms with their man dying while on duty, friends of Brigadier Lakhbhinder Singh Lidder, a second-generation army officer remained poised in grief.

“He was very warm, always smiling. He would stroke my head affectionately everytime he met me,” said Zoya Choudhary who lived close to the Lidders in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. Brig Lidder who was commissioned into the Army in 1990, had commanded second battalion of Jammu and Kashmir rifles.

Brigadier HS Lidder

He was originally from Haryana. A family friend, who did not want to be named, said, “He was full of life and always had a positive attitude. He always found a way to make someone’s day.” At the time of his death Lidder was posted as defence assistant to General Rawat.

While his cantonment residence in New Delhi remained closed, friends had gathered for a small commemoration within the cantonment area on Thursday.

All those who spoke to The Quint of their loss, however, remained hopeful for Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash. Singh, according to police sources, has suffered 80 percent burns.

The One Who Survived

Varun Singh who was undergoing treatment at Wellington hospital was airlifted to Command Hospital, Bengaluru on Thursday. Akhilesh P Singh, the fighter pilot’s uncle told The Quint, “His family, wife and parents, are with him. Yesterday some operations were performed on him.”

Group Captain Varun Singh

Singh was passionate to join the Air Force since childhood, his uncle recalled. “He cleared NDA in the first attempt and always wanted to wear the uniform.” Doctors have informed the family that Singh suffered “severe burn injuries”.

(With inputs from Smitha TK)