Thirteen years after her death in 2011, Basanti Devi’s story of unwavering hope still resonates. Till her last breath she waited for the return of her husband Narayan Singh. He was declared missing in 1968 after an Air Force plane crashed in the snow-covered mountains of Himachal Pradesh.
Thirteen years after her death in 2011, Basanti Devi’s story of unwavering hope still resonates. Till her last breath she waited for the return of her husband, army soldier Narayan Singh. He was declared missing after the crash of an Indian Air Force plane in the snow-covered mountains of Himachal Pradesh in 1968. His body was recovered in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday and brought to Dehradun on Wednesday, officials said.
Narayan’s step son said that after the plane crash, the family was informed about Narayan’s disappearance in an official letter. My mother believed that her husband was alive. When the first letter arrived it was in English. It was taken to a school principal. After the principal read the letter, my mother refused to accept it. She used to say that if he is dead, where is the body?
In 1973, Basanti’s in-laws arranged her marriage with Narayan’s cousin Bhawan Singh Bisht. Despite starting a new chapter in her life, Basanti’s heart remained connected to Narayan. Jaiveer told that she often talked to my eldest sister about Narayan. Despite being married, she never stopped thinking or crying about Narayan.
She often wondered why she did not receive any compensation if he had really died. This kept the hope of his survival strong. Jaiveer said that now he will appeal to the authorities for appropriate compensation in view of his mother’s lifelong devotion. “He may not be my biological father, but I will perform all the rituals for him, because my mother waited for him all her life,” Jaiveer said.
This tragedy occurred on 7 February 1968. The IAF AN-12 aircraft carrying 102 passengers went missing near Rohtang Pass after taking off from Chandigarh. The debris and remains of the victims remained lost in the icy terrain for decades.
In 2003, an expedition from ABV Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, discovered aircraft wreckage in the South Dhaka Glacier. The climbers also found the remains of a body, which was later identified as that of Sepoy Beli Ram, an army man. Five bodies were recovered in search operations in 2005, 2006, 2013 and 2019.
However, the Chandrabhaga mountain expedition recovered four more bodies, giving new hope to the families of the deceased and the nation. Defense Public Relations Officer, Dehradun, Lt Col Manish Srivastava said, “When an expedition team of Army’s Dogra Scouts recovered four bodies from the Dhaka Glacier, Army Medical Corps constable Narayan Singh was identified in uniform from his paybook. The paybook contained financial details.” , medical records and the name of the spouse, DNA profiling would be required.
Lieutenant Colonel said that his mortal remains were first brought from Himachal Pradesh to Chandigarh, then from Chandigarh to Dehradun. From here the mortal remains will be taken to Rudraprayag, where it will be given military honors by the local unit before being kept in the mortuary of the Civil Hospital. After that the mortal remains will be taken by road to his native village located about 100 km from Rudraprayag.