Highlights
- CDS General Rawat, his wife and 11 others died in a chopper crash incident in Tamil Nadu yesterday
- Gen Rawat, the first CDS, had served as the Chief of Indian Army from Dec 17, 2016, to Dec 31, 2019
- Last rites of General Bipin Rawat will be performed in Delhi with full military honours on Dec 10
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and others at the Delhi airport on Thursday evening. The mortal remains of 13 of fourteen people who died in a chopper crash yesterday, will be brought to Delhi from Tamil Nadu. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval will also be present at the airport.
CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others lost their lives in an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier this morning, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and military personnel among others paid floral tributes to the victims in Coonoor.
The mortal remains of the crash victims in caskets, wrapped in the Indian tricolour, left for Sulur airbase in decorated army trucks from Madras Regimental Centre in Nilgiris district. From Sulur airbase, the mortal remains will be taken to Delhi by air.
In Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Parliament the last rites of India's first CDS will be performed with full military honours. The final rites of the other personnel who died in the crash will also be conducted with appropriate military honours, he said.
READ MORE: RIP CDS General Bipin Rawat: The man who was born to serve the Indian Army