Karnal, April 25 -- A day after Indian Naval officer Vinay Narwal, 26, was cremated with full military honours in Karnal, his father Rajesh Narwal spoke to the media on Thursday and disclosed how his son, an engineer, aimed to become a fighter pilot, but wasn't selected due to his height.

"He was outstanding in his studies throughout his schooling. He then pursued engineering and like every parent, we also thought he would become an engineer. But as his third year of the course started, he told me that he was not willing to work in the private sector and wanted to join government service particularly in the defence," he said.

Rajesh, an officer with the Haryana government's GST department in Panipat, further said that his son tried his ...