Photos of soldiers’ bodies in plastic sacks spark outrage

NEWDELHI: Two days after seven military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash in Tawang, purported images of their bodies wrapped in plastic sacks and tied up in cardboard surfaced on Sunday, triggering an outrage.

This prompted the army to post a tweet, saying the wrapping of bodies with local resources was an “aberration” and that the fallen soldiers are always given full military honour.

“Seven young men stepped out into the sunshine yesterday to serve their motherland, India. This is how they came home,” tweeted former northern army commander Lt Gen (retd) HS Panag, along with the images.

Reacting to the issue, the army’s additional directorate general, public information tweeted that the carriage of the mortal remains in body bags, wooden boxes and coffins will be ensured. “Fallen soldiers (are) always given full military honour. Carriage of mortal remains in body bags, wooden boxes, coffins will be ensured,” it said. It added that the wrapping of bodies in local resources was an “aberration”.

The photographs were taken when the bodies were in Guwahati, as per an official. Panag said proper military body bags must be used to transport bodies from forward locations until ceremonial coffins become available.

Five IAF personnel, including two pilots, and two armymen were killed when the Mi-17 V5 medium-lift chopper crashed on Friday near Tawang .

‘DETACHMENT OF TAIL ROTOR CAUSE OF CRASH’

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on Sunday that the helicop- ter may have crashed due to disengagement of its tail rotor.

“Prima facie it appears that the tail rotor of the chopper had come off. It will not be proper for me to say why it came off as a court of inquiry has already been ordered,” the IAF chief said.

Dhanoa also paid homage to the seven military personnel killed in the crash. He said there was no technical problem in the engine of the aircraft as the Mi-17 V5 fleet is still flying.

“I think there is no problem in the machine as the chopper is flying even today,” he said.

HT Officer S Tiwari, who died in the Tawang chopper crash, is cremated in Ghaziabad on Sunday.