GLOOM DESCENDS ON PILOT’S HOME TOWN
KARNAL: A pall of gloom descended on Karnal soon after the news of Indian Coast Guard helicopter co-pilot Assistant Commandant, Captain Penny Chaudhary’s death reached her home town. Chaudhary had sustained head injury in the chopper crash that took place on March 10. She breathed her last on Tuesday evening.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Penny’s uncle Col Manbeer Choudhary (retd) said that she was on life support system for the past 17 days following a surgery for head injury at the naval hospital INHS Asvini in south Mumbai’s Colaba.
He said the helicopter was on a routine sortie and Penny was accompanied by deputy commandant Balwinder Singh and two divers Sandeep and Baljeet when it crashlanded.
He said her body was likely to reach Karnal late Wednesday night and cremation will take place around 1pm on Thursday.
Penny is survived by her father Gurmeet Choudhary, mother Manjeet and elder sister Rubal.
Her father is a landlord, mother a housewife and sister an interior designer at Chandigarh. Her parents are currently in Mumbai and they are likely to reach Karnal by Wednesday night.
Family sources said Penny’s grandfather’s brother Capt Rajinder Pal was martyred during the 1962 Indo-China war.
Col Manbeer said, “Penny was a bright child of the family and she achieved her dream to serve the country as a pilot. Besides me, there are several people from our family who have served in the army and this inspired Penny to join the navy.”
He added, “We have lost a very dear family member, who was full of life. The family is proud of her great sacrifice.”
Penny had done her schooling from Nishan Public School of Karnal. After completing her graduation in Aeronautical Engineering from Bangalore, she joined the Indian Navy in 2013. After her training in Goa, the 26-year-old Assistant Commandant was commissioned as an Indian Coast Guard officer in 2016.
Penny’s cousin and close friend Roop Choudhary said, “At an age of just 26, she stood tall in her meticulous, white naval uniform with a name plate of Assistant Commander. Her phone calls ended with a firm ‘Jai Hind’ rather than a goodbye”