Uttarakhand IAF hero laid to rest with full honours

Mumbai : Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Uttarakhand Tuesday, was laid to rest here Sunday afternoon with full military honours.

A large number of people led by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, BJP Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Vinod Tawade, Mumbai Congress chief J. Chandurkar and NCP state spokesperson Nawab Malik and Indian Air Force (IAF) officers attended the funeral.

Castelino’s body was brought to Mumbai Saturday morning and the burial took place at the Our Lad of Egypt Church in Santacruz East suburb.

Hailing from Kinnigoli near Mangalore in Karnataka, Wing Commander Castelino was piloting the ill-fated IAF MI-17 V5 helicopter which crashed during inclement weather while on a rescue mission in the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) Sunday urged Defence Minister A.K. Antony to confer posthumous military or civilian honours on the brave officers who lost their lives during the rescue missions in Uttarakhand floods.

CSF general secretary Joseph Dias made the demand while paying tributes to Wing Commander Castelino.

“Wing Commander Castelino had displayed rare and distinguished service which calls for such a recognition. The Ashok Chakra is awarded for valor and courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battle-field. It is the peace time equivalent of the Paramvir Chakra and Castelino is eminently eligible for it,??? Dias said.

Dias urged Antony to award honours for personnel of the Notional Disaster Relief Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police also who lost their lives during the Uttarakhand relief operations.

AFP PHOTO/Indranil MUKHERJEE