Mortal Remains Of Gen Bipin Rawat, Wife And Others Arrive In Delhi

India's first Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others were killed when the Indian Air Force helicopter crashed in Tamil Nadu on December 8. Their mortal remains have now been brought to the Palam Airbase in Sulur where their family members paid tribute.

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and other Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other officials paid their tributes to the CDS.

General Rawat was on his way to the Wellington to give a lecture to the students and the staff members at the defence college. As per reports, just 10 mins away from the destination the helicopter crashed. Out of the 14 people on board only one person survived. Rawat's and his wife's death was confirmed in the evening by the Indian Air Force.

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Mortal Remains Of General Bipin Rawat Placed In Delhi:

The last rites of the deceased defence chief and his wife is going to take place on Friday, December 1. The dead bodies will be kept at Kamraj Marg from 11 am to 2 pm the people to pay their tributes. The funeral procession will start from Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment.

The reports of the helicopter crash started coming in at 12:20 pm on December 8. There were 14 persons on board the Mi-17 V5 chopper of Indian Air Force. The chopper had taken off from the Sulur airbase, Coimbatore and was headed for Wellington, Nilgiri Hills. The aircraft landed nearly 10 kilometeres from the nearest road which is why the rescue operations became difficult, as per reports.

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The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi called General Rawat an outstanding soldier in his tweet. He wrote, "A true patriot, he greatly contributed to modernising our armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. His passing away has saddened me deeply. Om Shanti."

Madhulika Rawat, General Rawat's wife also died with him. She used to work for the welfare of army wives, childrend and other dependents of the army. She came from a royal family of Sohagpur Riyasat in Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh. Her father Mrigendra Singh had served as the MP from the district. He won elections in 1967 and 1972. General Bipin Rawat and his wife are survived by their two daughters.