ANGUL: A pall of gloom descended on Krishnachandrapur village under Kandhal panchayat in Talcher area of Angul district in Odisha after news came in that son of the soil Rana Pratap Das (35) was among those killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu along with chief of defence staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat on Wednesday.
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Rana Pratap was a junior warrant officer (JWO) of Indian Air Force (IAF) and was part of the technical crew.
Rana Pratap leaves behind a one-year-old son and wife besides his parents.
He was serving the IAF for around a decade.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who belongs to Talcher, mourned his demise.
“While the country is yet to come to terms with the unfortunate chopper crash yesterday, I also mourn the demise of JWO Rana Pratap Das who lost his life along with CDS Gen Rawat, his wife and other defence personnel. Das was from my hometown in Talcher,” Pradhan tweeted.
Rangadhar Nahak, a former Sarpanch of Krishnachandrapur, told TOI, “We got information about the demise of Rana Pratap Das about 10 pm. All the villagers are saddened by his untimely demise. We have lost a son who gave his life for the country."
