Saharanpur’s Fatehpur village is set to bid a poignant farewell to Air Force Sepoy Malkhan Singh, who has been missing since a tragic plane crash in Rohtang Pass 56 years ago.
His body is expected to arrive in the village on Wednesday evening or Thursday, bringing a mix of anxious joy and deep reverence among his grandchildren and fellow villagers.
According to Additional Superintendent of Police Sagar Jain, preparations are in full swing in the Nanauta area for the long-awaited return of Singh’s remains.
His younger brother, Isam Singh, 68, shared the emotional weight of the moment, noting that Malkhan joined the Air Force at the age of 20 and died in the crash three years later, leaving behind his wife Sheela Devi and an 18-month-old son, Ram Prasad.
Isam, who has since lost both Sheela and Ram Prasad, recalled the legacy of Malkhan, stating, “Village elders used to tell children stories about Malkhan. The whole village now awaits his arrival to give him a proper departure. It's God's blessing that his body is coming in the 'Pitra Paksha'. He will finally get 'Mukti'.”
He added that Malkhan would have been 79 years old had he survived, and tears glistened in his eyes as he reflected on his brother's aspirations.
“He always wanted to join the Air Force. Seeing planes flying above the field, he used to say that he would join the force, which he ultimately did,” he reminisced.
Malkhan Singh’s legacy lives on through his grandchildren: grandsons Gautam and Manish, and granddaughters Sonia, Seema, and Monica.
While Gautam and Manish now drive auto-rickshaws in Saharanpur, Sonia and Seema are married, and Monica, at 19, is still pursuing her studies.
Among Malkhan’s siblings, only Isam and sister Chandrapali remain alive; his brothers Sultan Singh and Chandrapal have passed away over the years.
According to ASP Jain, Malkhan Singh was identified through a batch found near his remains.
“The Army informed us that the body was not completely damaged as it was in the snow.
His family members can identify him,” he explained.
The tragic history dates back to 1968 when Malkhan Singh disappeared in an aircraft crash in the snow-covered mountains of Himachal Pradesh’s Rohtang.
He was onboard a twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft, carrying 102 people, which had gone missing on February 7, 1968, while flying from Chandigarh to Leh.
After encountering severe weather conditions near Rohtang Pass, the aircraft lost contact and vanished in the harsh, snowbound terrain.
Army officials informed that a joint team from the Dogra Scouts of the Indian Army and Tiranga Mountain Rescue located Malkhan Singh’s remains, alongside four other passengers.
For decades, the wreckage and victims’ remains were lost in the unforgiving terrain, with only five bodies recovered by 2019 due to the challenging conditions.
For decades, the wreckage and remains of the victims lay undiscovered in the frigid terrain.
It wasn't until 2003 that mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering stumbled upon the wreckage, igniting a series of expeditions led by the Indian Army, particularly the Dogra Scouts.
By 2019, only five bodies had been recovered due to the challenging conditions and harsh landscape of the crash site, according to officials.
Of these, the remains of Malkhan Singh, Sepoy Narayan Singh, and Craftsman Thomas Charan have been positively identified.
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