India pays last tribute to Lt Col Harjinder Singh killed in Tamil Nadu's IAF chopper crash

The last rites of Lt Col Harjinder Singh, who was among the armed personnel who lost their lives in the horrific Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, was held at Brar Square Crematorium in New Delhi on Sunday. The last rites of Lt Col Singh were performed with state honours in the presence of his wife Maj Agnes P Manezes (Retd), daughter Preet Kaur and several dignitaries including Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Indian Army chief General MM Naravane, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar. 

Daughters, wife of Lt Col Harjinder Singh pay their last tributes

Before the last rites, Lt Col Harjinder Singh's wife Maj Agnes P Manezes (Retd) and daughter Preet Kaur paid their last tributes at Brar Square Crematorium. Lt Col wife stood strong with folded hands in front of the mortal remains wrapped in tricolour, with both their daughters by her side. 

Lt Col Singh was born on April 17, 1978. He studied a prestigious course at National Defence College in New Delhi. He belonged to 11 Gorkha Rifles, the same regiment as CDS General Bipin Rawat, and had been deployed in several battalions including the Siachen Glacier. 

According to reports, Lt Col Singh had also served a tenure in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. Part of 2/11 Gorkha Rifles, Singh was commissioned in September 2001 from Officers Training Academy in Chennai. He also served in North East along the Line of Control (LOC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC). In Jammu and Kashmir, he served as Sikkim Scouts Staff Officer in a Corps HQ. Lt Col Singh also served as an instructor at IMA and served in the High Altitude Area.

At present, Lt Col Singh was serving as Staff Officer to CDS General Bipin Rawat. 

Coonoor chopper crash 

In a tragic event, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other security officials passed away as a Mi5-V17 chopper flying in from the Sulur Air Force Base to Wellington crashed on Wednesday. The others killed in the crash were his Defence Adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lt Colonel Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, JWO Das, Junior Warrant Officer Pradeep A, Havildar Satpal, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik Sai Teja.

Due to the severity of the crash, identification of the bodies was proving to be difficult. Late General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brig Lakhbinder Singh Lidder were identified on Thursday, others including that of Lt Col Singh's body was identified on Saturday. 

Image: Twitter/@ANI