CHANDIGARH: Father of Capt Jayant Joshi (27), co-pilot of the ill-fated Rudra attack chopper of the 254 Army aviation squadron of Mamun Cantt in Pathankot that crashed into Ranjit Sagar lake in Jammu and Kashmir on August 3, has appealed to the supreme commander of the armed forces President Ram Nath Kovind to ask defence forces to enhance efforts and quickly procure high-end equipment to search his son.
In a series of tweets on Sunday through his elder son Neel’s twitter handle, Harish Joshi (60) said, “For a second generation army recruit, a trained commando, an attack pilot and a brave soldier, this is all we ask of you, and is the least the brave soldier and his grieved parents deserve. In anticipation of your personal intervention.” Joshi, who is camping in Army’s Mamun Cantt after chopper’s crash with the hope to see his son’s body at least, said his wife, Colonel Jivan Tara has been serving the Army for almost 40 years as an MNS officer and attended to thousands of ill and wounded soldiers. Their son was inspired by mother to join the Army.
“We really appreciate the rigorous efforts by Army and ongoing efforts by brave Navy personnel. Unfortunately, there is still no news about our brave pilot son,” he added. Joshi further said that to their credit, Army and Navy have succeeded in retrieving the body of the other pilot, the aircraft wreckage and the black box over the last few weeks. “The black box has helped them to know the location of first impact, increasing possibility of discovery of my son, who unfortunately, remains under water,” Joshi tweeted.
