Jamshedpur mourns death of pilot trainer

JAMSHEDPUR: The news of a training aircraft crash in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district on Sunday hit the prominent Jha family here like a thunderbolt. Their son, trainer pilot Sanjeev Kumar Jha, was killed in the crash along with a trainee from Tamil Nadu, Fatima.
Sanjeev, whose family lives in Sitaramdera here, was well-known and well-liked in the Steel City. After all, he began fulfilling his dream of becoming a pilot at the Jamshedpur Flying Club, which he joined in 1996, the same year he married noted advocate Ritu Jha.He continued to be associated with the club till 2015. He also worked as a commercial pilot with IndiGo and Kingfisher before joining the flying institute in Dhenkanal.
Sanjeev’s father Sadanand Jha, originally from Bihar’s Bhagalpur, has an established coal business in Dhanbad. His mother is a former politician. Sanjeev was the only child of his parents and is remembered by his friends as a happy-go-lucky person, who loved adventure, especially night flying.
Besides Ritu and his parents, Sanjeev leaves behind sons Aman and Saurya. His elder son, Saurya, who is doing an engineering course in Bengaluru and who is now here, said, “The news of the accident was given to us by my uncle, who lives in Burmamines. Dad last visited Jamshedpur in December 2019.”
The couple’s younger son, Aman, recalled his last interaction with his father through video call on Sunday, and said, “He (Sanjeev) used to help me with studies even though he lived miles away. He wanted me to join the defence forces to serve the country and I will fulfil his wishes.”
Sanjeev’s brother in-law, Anuj Mishra, said the body had been brought to Jamshedpur by road on Tuesday and the final rites were performed at the Subarnarekha ghat crematorium in the evening.