Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande pays homage to Lt Col VVB Reddy in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Saturday paid homage to Lt Colonel VVB Reddy who was among the two pilots killed when a Cheetah helicopter of the Army crashed in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Army Chief paid homage to Lt Colonel Reddy at the latter's residence at Malkajgiri here, according to a Defence release.

The mortal remains of Lt Colonel Reddy arrived at the Begumpet Air Force Station here Friday night. Homage was paid to Lt Col Reddy with full military honours.

The body was then taken to his residence at Malkajgiri here.

Reddy had passed out of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and served in the Army for about 20 years, family sources said.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Reddy was a native of Bommala Ramaram village in Yadadri-Bhongir district of Telangana, family sources said.

Reddy and his co-pilot Major Jayanth A were killed when the helicopter crashed near Mandala in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday morning.