Rajnath Singh 'deeply anguished' by untimely demise of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat

Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh condoled the demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other personnel of the Indian Army in the helicopter crash on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu. Expressing grief, Singh said that he is “deeply anguished” by the sudden death of 13 out of 14 people on board the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter. The Union Minister said that Gen Rawat’s untimely death is an “irreplaceable loss” to the Indian Armed Forces. 

Remembering the outstanding personality of the first CDS of India, the Union Minister noted how Gen Bipin Rawat “served the country with exceptional courage and diligence”. Singh said, “As the first Chief of Defence Staff he had prepared plans for jointness of our Armed Forces.” The Union Minister wished for the speedy recovery of the lone survivor of the crash, Gp Capt Varun Singh who is presently undergoing treatment at the Military hospital in Wellington.  

IAF helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu 

Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed in a statement on Twitter that Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others died in the sudden crash of the Mi-17V5 helicopter on Wednesday. IAF said, "With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident."

"Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington," it added.

The IAF helicopter lost all communications just before the crash between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu. 63-year-old Rawat along with his wife and his staff was travelling to Wellington Staff College to deliver a lecture at 2:45 PM. Apart from Gen Rawat and his wife, the crew included Brig LS Lidder, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, NK Gursewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kumar, L/Naik Vivek Kumar, L/Naik B Sai Teja and Hav Satpal. 

(IMAGE: PTI/RepublicWorld)