Ministry of Defence15-July, 2017 19:30 IST
Prayer meet for Martyr Dhillon begins; CM invited
On
July 4, three braveheart air warriors of the Indian Air Force led by Wing Commander
Mandeep Singh Dhillon, Commanding Officer of the Tezpur-based Advanced Light
Helicopter (ALH) unit, met with a tragic end when their helicopter crashed in
the hills of Arunachal Pradesh.
Co-pilot
Flight Lieutenant PK Singh and Sergeant RY Gujar, the flight gunner, were among
the other aircrew members involved in the mission involving evacuation of the
landslide-hit civilians.
A
police constable from Arunachal Pradesh, who was a passenger onboard, also died
in the tragic crash.
On
the ill-fated day, the crew reportedly evacuated 169 civilians to safety.
For
“Mandy”, as Dhillon was fondly known amongst his friends, saving lives was intrinsic
to his life and profession. Never the one to shy away from volunteering on such
mercy missions, his grooming came about at this very ‘Hovering Angels’ unit, which
incidentally was his first operational unit and unfortunately, his last.
On a
hill-flying mission in the Tawang sector, last year on May 19, upon learning
that a number of Army jawans were injured in a vehicle accident on the road
leading to Tawang, Dhillon volunteered to evacuate them. In a series of sorties,
he evacuated 13 injured soldiers from Jaswantgarh to Khirmu, a helipad some
distance away from where the injured could be rendered medical assistance.
With
nearly 4,000 hours of total flying experience including 1,200 captain hours on
ALH alone, Dhillon was one of the highly experienced helicopter pilots. A Qualified
Flying Instructor, an Aircrew Examiner and anInstrument Rating Instructor and
Examiner, only a few could match up to his professional excellence.
He
was innately humane, selfless, modest and a compassionate soul.
Air
Vice Marshal Manavendra Singh, erstwhile Commodore Commandant of Hovering
Angels, currently Senior Officer-in charge-Administration at HQ Eastern Air
Command, was Dhillon’s first Commanding Officer when he joined the unit
inJanuary 2000.He recalls, “Mandy was one of the very bright and upcoming
officers. In no time, he achieved his operational status.”A go-getter in every
sense of the word, his passing away is a great loss to the IAF, he added.
“Besides
being a thorough professional, he was one of the most loved persons in the station.
During social activities he would make it a point to meet everyone. What a
great loss!” said Air Commodore KVR Raju, Air Officer Commanding, Tezpur.
A
second-generation IAF officer, Dhillon, who hailed from Patiala, was destined
to follow his father’s footsteps. From being a cadet at Rashtriya Indian
Military College (RIMC), one of India’s foremost feeder schools that groom
young boys to join the Defence services as officers, to National Defence
Academy (NDA) followed by Air Force Academy, it was only natural for Mandy to
opt for the helicopter stream.
“Perhaps
he wanted to add to the legacy of his father, Sqn Ldr PS Dhillon (Retd),who was
a Flight Engineer in Mi-4 helicopters in the 1970s,” said Group Captain PB “Papa”
Nair, Dhillon’s NDA coursemate. “He was quite popular amongst our course mates.
He was more than a brother to me,” added Nair.
An
avid sportsperson and an excellent cross-country runner from his school days,
Mandy was lauded by his seniors and admired by his peers and juniors alike. A
gold medalist from his cadet days at RIMC and NDA in the grueling races that is
a supreme test of endurance and stamina, Mandy imbibed much of his athletic
prowess and genes from his father who was also a National coach in athletics.
“He
was an astute visionary and had an eye for detail and always took the initiative
to lead from front,” said Flight Commander, Wing Commander Mudit Chaurasia.
From the initial sense of shock and disbelief to denial, slowly but surely, the
ALH Unit Dhillon once nurtured for over a year, is coming around, as the pilots
have once again taken to the skies in their angelic missions of saving lives.
Recalling
their life together in their near 14 years of matrimony, his wife Prabhpreet
Kaur Dhillon, describes her husband as someone who was very compassionate and
helpful towards anyone in need. Having grown up herself in the Air Force way of
life (her father retired as an Air Commodore), Prabhpreet was well acquainted
with the high-risk profession of her pilot husband.
“He
would always volunteer for such rescue and relief missions ahead of others. Flying
for flood relief or casualty evacuation always remained his top priority. He just
wanted to help others in every possible way and also performed ‘seva’ in
langars at the Gurudwara wherever possible,” she recalled.
“He
was a loving husband and a doting father to our daughter Sehaj and son Eshar,”
she added.
On
that ill-fated day, she wanted her husband to take their daughter to the
Station Medicare Centre as she was running fever. “But he said he would not be
able to, as he had to go for a flood relief mission. And,in the process of
saving other lives he ended up losing his own life,” said Prabhpreet, wistfully
remembering her last conversation with him.
Despite
her profound loss, Prabhpreet, as the first lady of the Unit, was seen
consoling family members of others who had lost their near and dear ones in the
tragic accident.
“Her
courage in the face of adversity and personal tragedy was both astounding and
admirable,” said Air Cmdr Raju.
Antim
ardas of Wing Commander Mandeep Singh Dhillon will be solemnized for two days,
starting todayat their residence in Patiala. A number of people have been
paying homage to the departed soul on social media as well.
Sqn
Ldr PS Dhillon (Retd.), father of the martyr, has also requested the presence
of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amrinder Singh (Retd), a respected
veteran, to attend the antim ardas of the martyr.
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