Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar, one of the pilots who was killed in Assam’s Karbi Anglong in a Sukhoi plane Su-30 fighter jet crash, was a part of Operation Sindoor.
Purvesh’s father, Ravindra Duragkar, said that his son was a dedicated officer who was deeply committed to his country.
Purveh, 28, had just met his family 10 days ago. He had returned home to Nagpur in Maharashtra for a family gathering.
His father, who is a retired railway employee, told PTI that his family did not initially know he was part of Operations Sindoor . The operation was launched last year to avenge the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
“15 days after Operation Sindoor was paused, did we get to know that he was part of the operation. He did not have his mobile phone with him during that time. We were not in touch with him during that time," his father said.
“My son was extremely proud to be part of the Indian Air Force. He would sometimes share his experience of flying fighter planes and the speeds that IAF jets achieve. He held his colleagues in high regard."
He said that Purvesh took immense pride in flying a fighter jet.
Flight Lieutenant Purvesh and Squadron Leader Anuj were both killed after their Russian-made Su-30 MKI aircraft went missing shortly after takeoff. The were on a training mission and lost communication at around 7:42 pm. The jet crashed 60 kilometres away
“My son sacrificed himself in the service of the nation. Everyone should take inspiration from him. He achieved his dream, but he could not serve the nation as much as he wanted to. He had a short tenure of 4 years," he said.
Purvesh is survived by his sister, an IITian who is settled in the US and his parents.
