He last called to wish us on the occasion of Republic Day, says mother of IAF officer who died in MP collision

While HR Sarathi’s death came as a shocker to the family members, a pall of gloom descended on Belagavi town which also houses the Army cantonment. At the Sarathi residence, a six-foot-long poster with the words, ‘Happy Landing’, was put up Sunday.

Revansiddappa Sarathi, the father of HR Sarathi, recalled their January 26 phone conversation. “A new quarter was allocated to him and he wanted to do a pooja. He asked about it from Savithri. We did not know that it would be his last call.”

Revansiddappa served in the Indian Army and retired as an honorary captain for his service. His two sons, HR Sarathi and his elder brother group captain Praveen Sarathi, also joined the Armed forces. Praveen is deployed at the Pathankot airbase.

HR Sarathi’s elder sister Prathibha Sarathi also recalled that she had a casual WhatsApp chat on Republic Day with him. Prathibha’s husband Dr Jagadeesh said they were expecting to meet him in February.

“Even when he was a student in Kendriya Vidyalaya-2 in Belagavi, he was very good in his studies and was inspired by the work of his father in the Armed forces. Both brothers aimed to become officers and they achieved it,” said HR Sarathi’s brother-in-law.

Revansiddappa Sarathi recalled that HR Sarathi last visited Belagavi in April. “We used to call him once every two or three days. What really hurts is that his children are very young. We recently visited him and his brother,” he added.

HR Sarathi was married to Meemansha in 2015 and the couple has a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.