Funeral Parade of Late Squadron Leader Dharmendra Singh Tomar conducted with full military honours

Adampur (Jalandhar), August 17, 2012: The Funeral Parade of Late Squadron Leader Dharmendra Singh Tomar was conducted with full military honours at Air Force Station, Adampur in the presence of his wife Neha Tomar and other family members here today. 

The Funeral Parade was attended by the Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station Adampur Air Commodore Michael Fernandez VM VSM and other officers and air warriors of the station.

Late Squadron Leader DS Tomar’s aircraft crashed in the Hills of Himachal Pradesh while undertaking an Air Defense mission by night on 18 Oct 11 at 2032 h. Immediately after the aircraft accident, extensive search was undertaken by Air Force.

However, Squadron Leader DS Tomar’s aircraft crash site could not be accessed due to inhospitable terrain and extreme weather conditions. The 1st phase of Search and Rescue   was temporarily halted on 06 Nov 11 primarily due to heavy snow fall in the area. The 2nd phase of search operation started on 20 Jul 12, after the snow had melted by a search team of Indian Army and Indian Air Force. The team could reach to the crash site and retrieved certain parts of the ill fated flight that crashed on 18 Oct 11. Additional remains of late Sqn Ldr DS Tomar were also found subsequently during the search.

Late Squadron Leader DS Tomar was born on 19 Sep 1979 and was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the IAF on 22 Jun 2002. The officer was serving in 47 Squadron as a fighter combat leader. He is survived by his wife Neha Tomar and son Ranveer.

The officer was a beacon of inspiration to his juniors, peers and seniors alike. His unfortunate demise is a great loss to the Indian Air Force and the nation.