Lt Gen H S Panag, a former Commanding Officer with the Indian Army today posted images of the martyrs who died in the Indian Air Force chopper crash in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.
https://twitter.com/rwac48/status/916901806969577472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The image is of the bodies of the martyrs wrapped in plastic bags and makeshift coffins made of cardboard. At first glance, it seems like an insult to the martyrs, especially on a day when India celebrates 85th Air Force Day.
He further tweeted images of the the coffins laid down, where it appears disrespectful to keep the bodies of martyrs like that.
https://twitter.com/rwac48/status/916902343123247105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Soon, outrage started pouring in for the alleged mistreatment of martyrs by the ‘nationalist’ government.
https://twitter.com/saikatd/status/916905868028866561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Nidhi/status/916913872354779137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/BDUTT/status/916912497235435523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
An abusive troll masquerading as journalist, Swati Chaturvedi also chimed in for fear of missing out on targeting Modi.
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/916945301969133568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Soon, images of the bodies of the martyrs, giving full respect to them, were shared, which revealed that the initial images were from the time the bodies were recovered.
https://twitter.com/MajDPSingh/status/916915301425455104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/nitingokhale/status/916922578962333696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
One would expect Lt Gen Panag, of all people, would know how retrieval from remote location would work, especially when weather conditions are not favourable.
https://twitter.com/nitingokhale/status/916924617998049280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/shreyadhoundial/status/916923405823299586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
There is no doubt that the martyrs, even when their remains are being evacuated from inhospitable terrain, deserve utmost respect, but insinuating that the government, the Army or the Air Force deliberately disrespected them is utterly disgusting. Guess when you have a political point to score, respect for the uniform you once donned gets thrown out of the window.