Bhiwani flight lieutenant aboard missing IAF plane
ROHTAK: Flight lieutenant Deepika Sheoran (26) of Bhiwani’s Loharu town was aboard the air force Antonov-32 jet that disappeared half-an-hour after leaving Chennai for Port Blair on Friday.
Remaining close to the telephone, her parents in Haryana await update on their daughter. “They say they are looking for the plane... but nothing has been found yet... kaafi delay ho gaya (it has been a long delay) .... she’s missing since 9.15am on Friday,” said the officer’s father, Dalip Sheoran, an executive engineer in the Haryana public health and engineering department.
Deepika, who received commission in 2013, married Coast Guard commander Kuldeep Singh last November.
Since one lived in Mumbai and other in Nasik, they had sought transfer to Port Blair recently. “She came home last week during her transfer period and left on July 16 to join at the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We went to the airport to see her off,” her father said.
The Russian-made aircraft, which is believed to have disappeared over the Bay of Bengal, took off at 8.30am from Tambaram in Chennai. The last contact with it was at 9.16am, about 151 nautical miles east of Chennai. “Her mother can’t stop crying... but we are hopeful. People have been telling us it will be okay,” said Dalip Sheoran. “We have faith in God.”