Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh was on Monday cremated with full military honours and as per tradition.
His mortal remains, which were kept at his residence on Sunday for people to pay their last respects, were moved to Brar square in Delhi cantonment in the morning on Monday.
Marshal Singh, the only five star officer of the IAF, was admitted in the Army’s Research & Referral hospital after a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning where he breathed his last at 07:47 pm. He was 98.
He was given a 17 gun salute and the Air Force conducted a fly past with Mi-17 helicopters and Su-30 fighter aircraft as a mark of respect for the icon.
Flypast by IAF helicopter as a mark of respect to Marshal Arjan Singh | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena
The Government has declared a state funeral on Monday and the national flag on all buildings in Delhi will fly at half-mast.
Marshal Singh as IAF Chief played a key role in achieving complete air superiority in the 1965 war with Pakistan. He was made Marshal of the IAF in 2002.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the three service Chiefs were among those who attended the last rites.