HYDERABAD: Obsequies were on Friday paid with full military honours to the mortal remains of Lt Col VVB Reddy and Maj Jayanth A of Army Aviation, who died in an Indian Air Force helicopter Cheetah’s crash while on a sortie in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday.
Vuppala Vinaya Bhanu Reddy left behind his wife Spandana Reddy and daughters Anika Reddy (6) and Harvik Reddy (4). His wife Spandana Reddy is a dentist in the Army in Pune. Bhanu Reddy’s father Uppala Narsimhmareddy along with his wife Vijayalaxmi have been residing at Durga Nagar in Malkajgiri for the last 40 years. His elder brother Uday Reddy settled in the US.
Bhanu Reddy hailed from a farmer’s family and he always wanted to serve the nation for which he joined the National Defence Academy after completing his Intermediate examinations at the age of 18, according to his father Narasimha Reddy’s cousin Sukhender Reddy.
The mortal remains of Bhanu Reddy reached Begumpet Airport at 9.30 pm. A select group of officials were allowed to pay tribute to the martyr; even the media was asked to stay away. Later at night, the mortal remains were moved to their hometowns in Telangana and Madurai, Tamil Nadu by a special military plane.
Bhanu Reddy’s last rites will be performed on Saturday with full military honours at his native place in Bommalaramaram village, in Keesara mandal of Yadadri district. An Army press release on Thursday stated that the Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter which was on an operational sortie near Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh lost contact with the ATC at around 9.15 am on March 16.