Want to be IAF pilot, says Wing Commander Chauhan's daughter; son, 7, wears father's cap

AGRA: As the family and the nation bid a final goodbye to Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan on Saturday, his 12-year-old daughter, Aaradhya, a class VII student, said,"I am committed to follow my father's footsteps. I will become an IAF pilot."
The young girl said this minutes after her 7-year-old brother lit their father's pyre in the presence of family members and friends at the Tajganj crematorium in Agra.Talking to TOI, Aaradhya said, "My father was my ideal. He always advised me to focus on my goals. I will follow his advice and achieve my dream, just lie he did."
The final rites of Chauhan, who was killed along with CDS General Bipin Rawat and 10 other military personnel in a chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district on Wednesday, were performed amid the chanting of patriotic slogans and state honours with the customary gun salute.
The mortal remains of the late officer arrived at the Agra airport around 10 am and was later brought to his residence where hundreds of people had gathered to pay their tributes. Union minister SP Singh Baghel and senior defence personnel were there at the airport to receive the casket.
Chauhan's son Aviraj saluted his father after wearing his cap and later lit the pyre along with his sister. Outside the crematorium, huge crowds of mourners had gathered and people showered flower petals. Meanwhile, a road leading to Chauhan's house, which was tattered for years, was repaired after the chief minister paid a visit to the family on Saturday. A neighbour, Om Prakash, said there were a lot of potholes in the small stretch but no one gave any attention to it for 15 years.