By IANS,
Mumbai : A Mumbai Congress legislator has urged Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to honour a dare-devil Mumbai resident who sacrificed his life during a rescue mission in last month’s Uttarakhand deluge.
In a letter to Chavan Friday, Vile Parle MLA Krishna Hegde said the state government should recommend the name of the late Wing Commander Darryl Castelino for an appropriate bravery award from either the central or the state government.
Hailing from Kinnigoli near Mangalore in Karnataka, Castelino was piloting the ill-fated IAF MI-17 V5 helicopter which crashed, killing five IAF personnel and 15 others.
The other four IAF men killed in the crash were Flight Lieutenant K. Praveen, Flight Lieutenant Tapan Kapoor, Junior Warrant Officer A.K. Singh and Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav.
Hegde also demanded that the state government should give compensation to Castelino’s kin.
Other state governments have already agreed to honour the brave who died in the crash and even Maharashtra should consider the same, Hegde said in his communication to the chief minister.
Chavan along with other top political leaders had attended the funeral of Castelino at the Our Lady of Egypt Church in Santacruz East June 30.
At the time, the Catholics Secular Forum also demanded an Ashok Chakra be conferred posthumously on Castelino.