Captain Jayant Joshi’s copter had crashed into Ranjit Sagar lake on August 3. His family have petitioned the President for a longer search, with foreign help, if needed.
The late Captain Jayant with his father, Harish Joshi. Photo: By arrangement
New Delhi: Nearly two-and-a-half months after his son’s helicopter crashed during a training sortie, Harish Joshi is concerned that the Army may call off the search operation even before Captain Jayant’s mortal remains are discovered.
The captain one of the two pilots of an Advanced Light Helicopter-Weapon Systems Integrated (ALH-WSI) which crashed into the Ranjit Sagar Lake near Pathankot on August 3.
While the remains of other pilot, Lt Col. A.S. Bath, were recovered on the evening of August 15, despite the use of specialised equipment, Jayant has still not been found.
Navy divers have been hard at work to locate the body at a depth of 70-80 metres, says Joshi, who has been staying at the Mamun Military Station along with his wife, who is a Military Nursing Service officer.
Joshi has faith in the Navy but cannot fathom why despite repeated demands foreign teams and even more specialised equipment has not been commissioned for the operation.
He feels that unlike the high seas, where the water is relatively clear, here Navy divers have to work in water that has a lot of silt and thus poor visibility.
“Today is the 72nd day of the search operation. My only issue is that in between the Army authorities keep sending feelers, saying ‘now we will have to take a call’ (on ending the search operation), and on how long they will continue this,” he told The Wire.
Joshi said the family’s opinions are not taken into account. After one such recent feeler, he said, he petitioned President Ramnath Kovind on October 11 as it was conveyed to him that the operation cannot go on for very long. Earlier too, on September 19, Joshi had petitioned the President.
‘Will not agree to last rites before recovery of remains’
The grieving father said the authorities want him to now perform the last rites of his son even before the remains have been recovered. “They suggested that we perform some havan or puja for him by the side of the lake to bring peace to his soul. We asked how we can perform his last rites without finding him. He is very much there and the Navy says they will find him, it is just a matter of time,” he said.
Joshi said the demand for last rites at this stage is insensitive and heartless.
“My wife worked for 40 years in the Army. We raised our child and gave him to the forces. He was a bright pilot. Today he is lying in the waters and instead of pulling him out you are giving us this suggestion that we should perform his rites. How can you do that? We will not do any such thing unless we find him. We will take him home and then perform the rites in a proper way, as per our traditions.”
When Joshi objected, he said, the authorities mellowed.
The late Captain Jayant Joshi. Photo: By arrangement
Jayant was commissioned in the Army in June 2017. He served with an attachment of the Sikh Light Infantry battalion for two years before joining the Army Aviation Corps where he was posted in the 354 Army Aviation Squadron that is based out of the Mamun Military Station.
Prior to the crash that killed him, his squadron had lost another pilot in a crash near Basohli military station in Kathua.
‘Usually operations are called off after a week’
Joshi said that to impress upon him that the search operation has gone on for a longer time than usual, “They also said how after a Coast Guard aircraft had crashed near the Andamans, the search operation was called off after a week, and how, similarly, the search for a chopper that crashed in the sea near Mumbai was called off after a week.”
But, Joshi pointed out, that there was a difference between these scenarios as the lake is a smaller area, unlike the ocean. Besides, the wreckage and the other pilot were both found, he said.
“They also keep giving out irrelevant information like the reservoir is 25 km long and one mile wide. But as per the report of the black box, the impact was at a particular place and thereafter the wreckage travelled 93 metres. And at a distance of about 10-12 metres from the wreckage the body of the other pilot was found about 13 days after the crash. So, actually, everything is just in the range of 500 metres to a kilometre at max.”
After such an impact and so much injury, he would not have gone beyond that range, Joshi said. The Navy’s own calculation is that he could not have gone too far, but they have searched quite a large area in spite of this.
‘Sonars, ROVs used in search’
The Navy, he said, is using side-scanner sonars and camera-mounted remotely operated vehicles (ROV). “What they do is they scan the bed of the lake with the help of sonar. It gives some impression of things lying there. Then they send the ROVs and they see what is lying there. If they find any suspicious object, then they lift it.”
The operation, he added, takes place at quite some depth – of around 80 metres. “The wreckage was found at a depth of 75 metres. It is dark down there, the water is not clear. The reservoir has been built on the Ravi river and since it is a flowing mountain river, there is some flow. So there is also a lot of dust at the bottom.”
Also, he said, the Army says there is a submerged village underneath with broken houses and trees and culverts, but they are actually away from the impact site. The Navy has not found anything there.
Despite the challenges, the deep sea divers of the Navy, he said, have virtually lifted the wreckage by tying it with their hands “because at such a depth it is difficult for any equipment to work.”
Joshi admitted that this was a unique and challenging operation for the Navy as most equipment are meant for the sea. He added that this is the first case of an Army chopper crashing into a dam reservoir.
‘Why shy of seeking foreign assistance?’
Joshi, who keeps going to the site in the hope that Jayant will be found soon, said that after his first petition to the President, the Army was directed to tell the family what action was taking place. “They sent us a letter saying as per the ethos and traditions of the Army we do not leave a soldier behind under any circumstance. Also, ‘we are seeking foreign assistance from friendly countries’,” he said.
“But,” he said, “when we ask them what is happening now, they say, ‘we are using imported equipment and we are using the best equipment available in Indian to carry out the search’. Why are they so shy to seek help? It would only increase our knowledge,” he said.
The Navy, he said, itself says that it has never worked under such conditions. “So there is a possibility that somewhere such expertise exists. I am told that some special equipment is being used, but there is no result. When I say, ‘why not call foreign experts’, they say, ‘foreign countries call Indian divers for operations’,” he said.
Joshi also raised the issue of the country being in need of specialised equipment to meet any such exigency in the future. “We have such a huge land mass with so many lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Our pilots are always training for war-like situations. Such an incident can happen any time. Is this not a time for capacity building?” he asked.
The pilot’s father said so far two pieces of foreign equipment has been hired. “One was hired from a Mumbai-based firm. This is an imported equipment. This sonar system was used to scan a large area. Another was hired from a Gurugram-based firm and it is also a similar system.”
The Wire has asked the Additional Directorate General of Strategic Communication, Indian Army, Ministry of Defence, to state if the issues raised by Joshi were valid. He has also been asked if as per the request of the father of Captain Jayant Joshi, foreign assistance is being sought for expediting the rescue operation. The comments of the Indian Army will be added to the story as soon as they are received.
SOURCE ; THE WIRE
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