Body of Dorjee Khandu flown to Tawang for last rites

Lily

B.R
Staff member
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Itanagar: Six days after the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu crashed, the bodies of the five victims were retrieved from the snow-capped mountains as a cloud of gloom fell on the state.

Hundreds of local tribal people and security personnel brought the five bodies to Tawang, traversing hostile terrain with snow reaching five feet in some areas.

Finally, a helicopter flew the coffin carrying the body of the 56-year-old chief minister to the state capital of Itanagar around 1pm where thousands of people had patiently lined up on either side of the road leading from the helipad to Khandu's official residence as a mark of respect for the politician.

The mood was sombre as thousands filed past the coffin at the chief minister's residence.

Best chief minister

"Ever since Arunachal Pradesh became a full fledged state, I have no doubts in my mind Dorjee Khandu is the best chief minister so far.

"By best I mean a chief minister who would go down in history as one who brought about visible development and ushered political stability to the state," said Jarbom Gamlin, state power minister.

Khandu's body bore marks on his head and face from injuries sustained during the fatal crash.

"Probably the injury was due to the impact of the crash, maybe the helicopter body hit his head during the crash. But there were no visible signs of any burn injuries as such," the chief minister's adviser Kiren Rijiju told IANS.

The other four bodies also in the helicopter were not as fortunate. They include the two pilots, Captain JS Babbar and Captain TS Mamik, Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak, and Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legislator Tsewang Dhondup.

"The worst were the bodies of the two pilots — both of them were charred beyond recognition and probably might require some medical tests for identification," Rijiju said.

The bodies of the two pilots were flown to New Delhi yesterday.

Captain Mamik hails from Dehradun. Witnesses said the helicopter plunged from a great height and as it plummeted towards the rugged mountain slope it burst into flames.

"The wreckage of the helicopter was strewn all over the area with signs of a black coating over the metallic pieces due to the fire that engulfed the chopper soon after it crashed," said a local yak herder who witnessed the helicopter crash.

Tributes paid

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi were expected to arrive in Itanagar today to pay their tributes to Khandu.

The body of Khandu was to be flown back to Tawang later today for his last rites as per Buddhist rituals. Khandu's ancestral home is in Tawang district.

The chief minister's four wives and six children are to accompany the coffin to Tawang.

Meanwhile, all indications are that state Urban Development Minister and president of the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Nabam Tuki would be sworn in as chief minister in the next couple of days.
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