By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 31: Shillong-born Air Marshal (retd) Pranab Kumar Barbora was cremated with full military honours at the Brar Square Crematorium, the Army cremation ground in Delhi on Tuesday.
Barbora, 72, passed away at the Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi on Monday and was undergoing treatment for the last few days.
He was instrumental in reactivation of the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) air strip in eastern Ladakh in 2008 after a gap of over four decades, and was an extremely experienced aviator with over 3500 hours of flying. Born on December 10, 1950, and commissioned into the IAF as a fighter pilot on June 13, 1970, Air Marshal Barbora had also taken part in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War
Barbora, hailing from Assam, was the first person from the Northeast to reach such a coveted position in the armed forces.
He was a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal.
In his illustrious career, he served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of IAF’s Western Air Command and Eastern Air Command.
A qualified flying instructor and a fighter combat leader, Barbora was on the staff of Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment which is a premier flying establishment of the IAF.
Among his several operational assignments include command of a MiG-21 squadron, chief operations officer of a fighter airbase and air officer commanding of a premier fighter airbase under Eastern Air Command.