Indian soldier cremated 40 years after his death

The mortal remains of soldier Hardas, recovered almost 40 years after he perished in an aircrash in Himachal Pradesh, were consigned to flames with state honours at his native Lohchab village in Gurgaon.

The villagers, including school children, bid farewell to the departed soul.

Hardas died along with 101 soldiers on February 7, 1968 after the AN-12 aircraft, which was ferrying them from Chandigarh to Leh crashed near Chandrabhaga Peak in Himachal Pradesh. After the crash, their dead bodies could not be traced. His body along with other three was recovered by an expedition team led by Major Nishant Kumar on August 2,2007.

Sarpanch of Lohchab village Prem Chand was disappointed at the lukewarm response from senior political leaders and bureaucrats. "Only a few local leaders of different political parties and junior level administrative officers attended the funeral ceremony," he said.

He alleged that the government machinery did nothing for Hardas's family. "The government should have come forward to help his widow, Shanti, but it is an irony that she helped the government by providing a room in village school," Prem Chand said.