Parents of Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar Receive ₹1 Crore From Maharashtra Government After Su-30MKI Crash

The parents of Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar have received ₹1 crore in financial assistance from the state government. The Indian Air Force (IAF) officer was killed when his Su-30MKI fighter jet crashed in Assam in March this year.

The amount was handed over in Nagpur on Thursday, 29 October 2026, by District Sainik Welfare Officer Major Anand Patharkar (Retd). His father, Ravindra Duragkar, and mother, Sandhya Duragkar, received ₹50 lakh each.

About the assistance

The payment was made under the state’s policy for families of defence personnel from Maharashtra who lose their lives in action or during operations. Key points:

• Amount: ₹1 crore ex-gratia, split equally between the two parents.

• Policy: Maharashtra has given ₹1 crore to the next of kin of such personnel since 2019, after raising the amount in stages from lower figures.

• Timing: The cheque was released after the required approvals, about eight months after the crash.

The crash

The Su-30MKI fighter jet took off from Air Force Station Jorhat in Assam on a training sortie on the evening of 5 March 2026. It lost radar contact at around 7:42 pm.

The wreckage was found the next day in a remote, hilly and forested area near Inglong Ekopi in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, about 60 km from the airbase. Neither crew member was able to eject. Squadron Leader Anuj Vashishth was also killed along with Flight Lieutenant Duragkar.

The IAF expressed its condolences and said it stood firmly with the bereaved families. The cause of the crash has not been made public.

Who was Flight Lieutenant Duragkar

He was born in 1998 and grew up in Nagpur. His journey to the cockpit included:

• Schooling and college: He passed Class 10 from South Public School, Nagpur, in 2015, and later completed a BSc in Computer Science at Dr Ambedkar College.

• NCC: He was an active NCC cadet and represented Maharashtra at six national camps. He also took part in aero-modelling competitions.

• Joining the IAF: He joined through the AFCAT route and was commissioned as a Flying Officer on 7 December 2022. He was later promoted to Flight Lieutenant.

• Posting: He served as a navigator on the Su-30MKI with a frontline fighter squadron under the IAF’s Eastern Air Command. He was posted at Tezpur but was operating from Jorhat because of runway work at Tezpur.

• Operations: He took part in Operation Sindoor in May 2025, which India launched after the Pahalgam terror attack.

He had visited his family in Nagpur about ten days before the crash. He is survived by his parents and his sister, Sayali, who lives in the United States.

About the aircraft

The Su-30MKI is a twin-seat, twin-engine multirole fighter and forms the backbone of the IAF’s fighter fleet. It was designed by Russia’s Sukhoi and is built under licence in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It can carry out air combat as well as ground and sea strike missions. The IAF operates more than 250 of these jets, including from bases in the Northeast.

Why it matters

Financial help cannot make up for the loss of a son, but timely support from the state and the services helps families cope with the practical challenges that follow. Several states give ex-gratia payments to the families of personnel killed on duty. These are in addition to the benefits provided by the Centre and the armed forces.