India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife along with 11 others were killed in a chopper crash
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat were killed in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Dec 8. Eleven others present in the helicopter also met with a tragic end. The only person who survived, Group Captain Varun Singh, has been airlifted to Command Hospital in Bangalore after giving emergency first aid and treatment in Chennai. “He is in a critical condition and there have been a lot of injuries. The facilities in Bengaluru command hospital is good and we are hoping he would recover and bounce back,” said Colonel (retired) K P Singh, Varun’s father.
The mortal remains of the General and his wife were flown to Delhi last night. On their arrival at Palam air base, Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and top officials of the defence services paid them tributes. The last rites will be performed today afternoon at the Brar Square crematorium, Delhi Cantt. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier made the statement about the crash.”With profound grief and heavy heart, I stand to convey the unfortunate news of the crash of the military helicopter in the noon of 8 December 2021, with India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat on board.”
Tributes poured in for the General from all walks of life from across the country and abroad. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said “General Rawat left an indelible mark on the course of the US-India defence partnership and was at the centre of the Indian armed forces’ transformation into a more jointly integrated warfighting organisation.”
“[Gen Rawat] played a big role in promotion of our bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership. Grieving together with India. Goodbye, friend! Farewell, commander!” tweeted Nikolay Kudashev, Russia’s Ambassador to India.
