By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Strongly condemning war-mongering over social media, Vijeta, the widow of Squadron Leader Ninad Mandavgane who was cremated at Nashik on Friday, has said that those crying for war from the comfort of social media go to the border to fight the war themselves.

“The way things are being flared up over the social media is horrible. Nothing is going to come out of that. I would request those social media warriors to stop doing it and would tell them, if you have so much ‘Josh’ then go join the force and see how it feels,” Vijeta said while interacting with media.

The mortal remains of the officer arrived at Ozar airbase near Nashik on Thursday. They were brought to his residence in the morning on Friday and then taken to the crematorium in a huge procession.

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A mechanical engineer by education Sqn Ldr Ninad was commissioned in the helicopter stream of Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2009. An alumini of Bhonsla Military School of Nashik and Services Preparatory Institute of Aurangabad, he had also achieved recognition as a national level hockey player. He is survived by his wife , their two-year-old daughter, a younger brother and his parents, who are both retired bankers.

“He had decided that he wanted to join the armed forces very early in the life and achieved his goal. He even discarded chance to become a commercial pilot to join the Air Force,” said the slain officer’s father Anil Mandavgane.

He was probably my best student, said former principal of Bhonsala Military school A Y Kulkarni. “He had great leadership qualities. I remember once he came to me to get relief from punishment for two of his classmates. I did so and later, I realised that he was ensuring that both of them are studying well and not quarrelling amongst themselves,” Kulkarni said.

He had served in Guwahati and Gorakhpur before being promoted to Sqn Ldr in 2015. He was posted to Kashmir only about a month back, Air Force sources have said.