Endless agony for parents of missing Army pilot Capt Jayant Joshi

Ravi Dhaliwal and Ajay Joshi

Tribune news Service

Pathankot, August 27

Twentyfive days have passed since Capt Jayant Joshi went missing after his chopper Rudra, an Advanced Light Helicopter, crashed into the Ranjit Sagar Dam lake. His parents Harish and Jeevan Tara Joshi are still waiting for elite Navy divers to fish out his body and hand it over to them.

Officers recall Jayant being a boy brimming with youthful exuberance. He was an officer who could do no wrong, personally or professionally.

On August 25, divers retrieved the body of Lt Col AS Batth from the depths of the reservoir. However, there is no trace of Jayant even after the Army pressed into service the state-of-the art diving equipment.

Search seems to have lost way

There seems to be no end in sight. The search seems to have lost direction. With every passing day, our son’s body is rotting and decaying in water. No compassion and respect is being shown to the soldier. —Parents of Capt Jayant Joshi

All efforts being made

All possible methods continue to be deployed by the Army and Air Force. These include the use of hi-tech equipment, including multi-beam sonar, side scanners and remotely operating vehicles. —Officials

The agony, anguish and angst of the Joshis is being directed towards the officers handling the search operations.

“There seems to be no end in sight. The search seems to have lost direction. With every passing day, our son’s body is rotting and decaying in water. No compassion and respect is being shown to the soldier,” they claimed.

However, officials say, “All possible methods continue to be deployed by the Army and Air Force. These include the use of hi-tech equipment, including multi-beam sonar, side scanners and remotely operating vehicles.”

On the day one of the search, the district administration and police sent in divers. However, they were amateurs forcing the Air Force to call professional divers from the Navy.

With no periodic updates on the operation, Joshi’s kin have been left high and dry. Misinformation often fills voids of information. This is precisely what happened as rumours of all kinds started doing the rounds forcing Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba to warn people engaged in malicious gossip.

Jayant was a student of the prestigious Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi. Later he completed his graduation in electrical engineering. He was commissioned in the 9th Sikh Light Infantry in 2017 and two years later joined the Pathankot based 254th Army Aviation Squadron.

The family is distraught. Every dawn brings with it hope. By dusk this very hope slips into oblivion. “We are holding on to hope and belief that our son will be in our midst soon. For us, hope is being able to see that there is light despite all darkness,” said Jeevan Tara.