Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has raised doubts over the death of the country's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon. Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said that 'people have doubts in their minds' and stressed that how can this happen when the country's supreme commander travels in the most sophisticated and safe helicopter.
“So, when such an accident takes place, it raises doubts in the minds of the people,” he said, noting that the helicopter ferrying Gen Rawat was a modern machine powered by two engines. "We claim to have modernised the armed forces. How could this happen?" he wondered.
Raut claimed that the entire country and the "leadership may have been confounded by this accident, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh or Prime Minister Narendra Modi should eliminate all doubts".
The Shiv Sena leader also noted that Gen Rawat had played a key role in formulating the nation’s military response against China and Pakistan in recent times, including the air strikes after the Pulwama attack.
The ill-fated IAF chopper Mi-17 V5 crashed in the Katteri park near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu killing Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 Armed Forces personnel. They were travelling from Sulur to Wellington when the helicopter crashed.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi too has raised doubts and demanded an internal inquiry into the purchase of the helicopter from Russia.
"I pray for the safety of our CDS & his family & hope no one is injured. These choppers have been procured recently so a proper investigation & enquiry must be done internally & with the manufacturer," he had tweeted December 8 soon after the helicopter crashed.
The Mi-17 V5 helicopter is an advanced military transport chopper that has been with the Indian Air Force (IAF) since 2012. Manufactured by Russian Helicopters' subsidiary Kazan, the helicopter has onboard weather radar and is equipped with the latest generation of night vision devices.
India had in 2008 signed a deal with Russia to induct 80 Mi-17 V5 helicopters for strengthening its chopper fleet for humanitarian and disaster relief missions and transport operations. The contract was expanded for the delivery of 151 Mi-17 V5 helicopters. The first batch of these helicopters came to India in September 2011.
READ MORE: Last video of CDS General Bipin Rawat's chopper that crashed in TN's Coonoor
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