[In Pics] Wrapped In Tricolour, Mortal Remains Of Odisha’s Brave Son Arrive In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Mortal remains of  Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Rana Pratap Das, who was killed in the tragic chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8, arrived at Biju Patnaik International Airport in a special IAF flight around 12 noon on Saturday.

The IAF officer was given a guard of honour by the personnel of the 120 Battalion.  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, other political leaders DGP Abhay and officials of state government also paid floral tributes to the immortal soul at the airport.

The body will be taken to his village Krushnachandrapur under Kundala panchayat of Talcher area in Angul district, where his family and relatives will pay the last respect to the departed soul. Rana will then be laid to rest near his native village in Talcher with full military and state honours, sources said.

Also Read: IAF Plane Crash: He Was Home Last Dussehra; Odia Jawan’s Village In Shock

A special graveyard is being prepared in the village for the cremation of the brave soldier of Talcher, which is likely to take place on Monday. It is being built by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, on the direction of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Meanwhile, villagers have also demanded that the road between Talabeda and Krishnachandrapur be named after him.

Born in 1987, Rana joined IAF in June 2006 and was transferred to Coimbatore three months back. The 34-year-old had got married in 2017 and he and his wife Sibangi, a dentist by profession, have a 19-month-old son.

Of the total 14 officers and personnel on board, 13 were killed in the horrific Mi-17V5 helicopter crash on Wednesday morning. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and his Brigadier Lidder were cremated with full military honours at Delhi’s Brar Square Crematorium on Thursday after their bodies were positively identified.