Tears rolled down the eyes of family, friends and schoolmates of Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal when the body was consigned to flames with full military honors in his native village of Jindermelu in Ranbir Singh Pura on Saturday.
The 26-year-old fighter pilot was killed along with Wing Commander M Rana of Himachal Pradesh in the MIG-21 crash in Rajasthan's Barmer area late Thursday night.
Draped in the tricolour, the body was brought to his ancestral home in a long procession from Air Force Station Jammu. Several close family members including mother, younger brother and uncles broke down as his mortal remains were shifted inside their home for the last rites.
Since early morning a large number of senior citizens,family friends, residents from nearby villages walked on foot to catch a glimpse of the martyred officer and pay their rich tributes.
Bal was regarded as a 'youth icon' in the entire area. An alumnus of Sainik School,Nagrota, Bal cracked the NDA examination in 2014 and went on to join the IAF academy in Hyderabad. He was commissioned in the IAF in June 2018.
