New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) The Chandni Chowk neighbourhood of the walled city Friday bid a tearful adieu to Flight Lieutenant Tapan Kapoor who died in the Mi-17 helicopter crash during a rescue operation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
The narrow lanes leading to Kapoor’s house were filled people to catch a last glimpse of their hero who spent his childhood in Katra Kushal Rai area of Chandni Chowk.
Kapoor died in the Mi-17 helicopter crash in Gaurikund June 25. He was on leave and had to depart for Uttarakhand after receiving a call from the Indian Air Force headquarters.
With the arrival of his body in a coffin draped in the tricolour, people shouted slogans praising the 26-year-old lieutenant.
Kapoor’s distraught mother Lata Kapoor and his sobbing sister Shweta Kapoor led the procession.
“Chandni Chowk has lost its hero. He always wanted to join the army. When he was a child, he would carry a toy pistol around in the locality,” said Pradeed Jain, one of the neighbours of Kapoor family.
“We will ensure that Katra Kushal Rai is renamed after Tapan Kapoor,” he said.
The 1.3 km long road in Chandni Chowk was heavily crowded. All shops in the area were shut to mourn Kapoor’s death.
