IAF getting subedar's death certificate to release salary to family

MANGALURU: The family of Subedar K Ekanath Shetty, 51, of the Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington, who was on board the missing AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), has not received communication that all passengers on the aircraft were "presumed dead".
However, the family received a letter from IAF four days ago, stating they were in the process of getting a death certificate by making a declaration in court, making it clear that chances of finding any remains or traces of the plane or passengers were bleak.
Satish Shetty, brother-in-law of Ekanath, said: "The family has not received any monetary assistance till date. His salary was also frozen from the day the aircraft went missing on July 22. We learnt from the Sainik Board that the process of approaching court to get a death certificate was to expedite the release of the salary and other benefits to the family."
But Shetty wondered how a death certificate could be issued in the absence of any proof of death.
Shetty said his sister Jayanthi (Ekanath's wife), and her children Ashitha and Akshay have been putting on a brave face and going about their daily routine, but are feeling the loss every day. "It's time to move on. They have also realized that sitting at home will only aggravate their pain. My sister, a teacher at SDM College, has resumed her duties and her children are also attending classes," he added. Ashitha is a final year BCom student of SDM College and Akshay, a Class X student of SDM High School in Ujire.
Ekanath Shetty had joined the Army in 1985 and served as Junior Commissioned Officer in the Defence Service Corps (DSC). Son of late ex-serviceman Krishna Shetty and Sunanda Shetty of Kutharpadavu near Thokkottu, Shetty was in the Army ti ll February 2009. Later, Shetty joined the DSC after six months of retirement from the Army. Shetty's house 'Gurudhama' at Guruvayanakere in Belthangady taluk, about 50km from Mangaluru, has a showcase full of medals and shields he had got for meritorious service. Ekanath was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) that was sent to Sri Lanka during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was also part of the ba ttalion that fought the Kargil War of 1999.
Ekanath had spoken to Jayanthi over the phone on July 21 to tell her he would not be able to fly to Port Blair due to pain in his leg, that needed surgery. However, the family's hopes dissipated when they received a message from the IAF headquarters in Chennai on July 22 around 1.30pm, that Shetty was also on board the AN-32.
Ekanath had last visited his family in the first week of July to take part in his sister's house-warming ceremony in Krishnapura, near Surathkal, on July 6. He had left for Chennai on July 9.