NEW DELHI, Dec 8: Gen Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, his wife Madhulika and 11 other armed forces personnel died on Wednesday after the military helicopter they were travelling in crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Air Force said.
The lone survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is currently under treatment at a military hospital in Wellington, it said.
The Chief of Defence Staff had left the Palam airbase in an IAF Embraer aircraft at 8:47 am and landed at Sulur airbase at 11:34 am. He took off from Sulur in a Mi-17V5 chopper at around 11:48 am for Wellington, official sources said. The chopper crashed around 12.22 pm, they said.
Rawat had survived a helicopter crash six years ago, in 2015, when he was a Lt General.
The Chief of Defence Staff was scheduled to deliver a lecture at Defence Services Staff College in Wellington.
Those killed in the crash included Brig LS Lidder, the military adviser to the CDS, and staff officer Lt Col Harjinder Singh. The other personnel killed are Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, JWO Das, JWO Pradeep A, Havildar Satpal, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik Sai Teja.
The Prime Minister-led Cabinet Committee of Security met in the evening and paid glowing tributes to Gen Rawat, it is learnt. It is not immediately known whether the government will appoint a new Chief of Defence Staff soon.
The mortal remains of Gen Rawat and his wife are likely to arrive in the national capital on Thursday evening and their cremation will take place on Friday in Delhi Cantonment, officials said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply anguished” by the sudden demise Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident in Tamil Nadu.
The IAF had confirmed about the accident around 2 pm, saying the Mi-17V5 helicopter with Gen Rawat on board met with an accident near Coonoor. It has already ordered an Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident.
As CDS, Gen Rawat was overseeing the implementation of an ambitious tri-services modernisation plan to bring synergy among the armed forces and enhance their overall combat capabilities.
Gen Rawat had served as the Chief of the Indian Army from December 17, 2016, to December 31, 2019. He was appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on December 31, 2019.
Army Chief Gen MM Naravane and all ranks of the force paid heartfelt condolences on the untimely demise of Ge Rawat his wife and 11 others.
“The dynamic and inspiring leadership of General Bipin Rawat shall remain eternally etched in our memories. The #IndianArmedForces will forever remain indebted to his invaluable contributions,” the army tweeted.
Gen Rawat’s wife Madhulika was serving as the president of the Defence Wives Welfare Association (DWWA). (PTI)
PM holds security meet
New Delhi, Dec 8: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the country’s top security officers held a meeting on Wednesday over the situation arising out of the IAF chopper crash in Tamil Nadu that killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others onboard the ill-fated helicopter.
It was decided that as a mark of respect, the government will announce national mourning on Thursday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and top military, security and intelligence officers were part of the meeting. Discussion was also held over selecting the next Chief of Defence Staff designate.
Before the meeting, Rajnath Singh had spoken to Modi about the crash. He also asked Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari to rush to the accident site.
In the meantime, Singh visited the residence of Rawat in Delhi and spoke to his daughter. Earlier, Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane had briefed Singh about the crash and related issues. (IANS)
List of casualties
Gen Bipin Rawat
Madhulika Rawat
Brig LS Lidder
Lt Col Harjinder Singh
Wg Cdr PS Chauhan
Sqn Ldr K Singh
JWO Das
JWO Pradeep A
Havildar Satpal
Naik Gursewak Singh
Naik Jitender Kumar
Lance Naik Vivek Kumar
Lance Naik Sai Teja
Survivor
Group Captain Varun Singh