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Palampur, October 13
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur called on the family of the deceased Lieutenant Colonel Rajneesh Parmar here last evening.
He met the parents of the deceased Lt Col Parmar, who had lost his life in a chopper crash on his birthday last month in Bhutan when he was imparting training to officials of Bhutanese Army.
Mukhyat Parmar, father of the deceased, appealed to the Chief Minister to take up matter with the PMO for the replacement of Cheeta helicopters as these were taking a toll on soldiers’ lives. He questioned when even vehicles on roads were normally used for 15 years, why Cheetahs, the 1960 vintage choppers, were in use by the Army even after 40 years of their induction. Several attempts to replace them have failed due to one reason or the other.
“Our child will never come back, but the lives of others can be saved introducing new machines,” told Ved Parmar, Rajneesh’s uncle urged the Chief Minister. Consoling the family, the CM said it was an irreparable loss which could not be compensated.
He assured family that government would provide all help and the family could call him any time for help.
“It is a big loss for us, but it happened in the service of the nation. That is the only consolation we can give ourselves,” said Ved Parmar, a retired Air Force personnel.
His father said 42-year-old Rajneesh has left behind his wife and a 12-year-old child, who studies in an Army school in Bikaner.
The single-engine Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army was on duty en route from Khirmu in Arunanchal Pradesh to Yongfulla in Bhutan when it crashed near Yongphulla.
The chopper belonged to Indian Army’s 667 Army Aviation Squadron based in Misamari in Assam.
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