00:00A family in tears, a nation in mourning and a life tragically cut short.
00:05These scenes played out in Haryana's Kakrana village
00:08where the last rites of squadron leader Anuj Vashishth were held on March 7.
00:12Squadron leader Anuj Vashishth was preparing for his wedding.
00:16His family was getting ready for celebrations.
00:18But instead of wedding bells, his village heard the sound of a military bugle
00:22as the young fighter pilot returned home wrapped in the Indian flag.
00:26On March 5, Anuj Sukhoi Su-30 MKI took off from the Jorahat Air Force Station in Assam
00:32for a routine training mission.
00:34But shortly after take-off, the jet disappeared from radar.
00:38Hours later, search teams located the wreckage in the hills of the Kabiyanglong district.
00:43Both pilots on board, squadron leader Anuj Vashishth and flight lieutenant Purvesh Durakkar had died.
00:49Anuj's mortal remains were brought to his ancestral village of Kakrana in Haryana on 7 March.
00:54Thousands gathered as the young officer was laid to rest with full military honours.
01:00Born in 1993, Anuj grew up in a military family.
01:03His father served as a subadar in the Indian Army.
01:06He joined the Air Force in 2015.
01:08His friends remember him as disciplined, focused and deeply passionate about flying.
01:13He died doing what he loved best.
01:15A bugle call, a final salute and a nation saying goodbye.
01:19Long.
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