New Delhi: Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu was cremated on Friday After a 17-gun salute.
A ceremonial battery of 2233 Field Regiment provided gun carriages and around 800 service personnel were present for the funeral of General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
Watch video: 17 gun salute given to CDS General Bipin Rawat
The couple’s two daughters Tarini and Kritika performed the last rites at the Berar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment amidst heart-wrenching scenes.
A priest chanted Sanskrit shlokas, a 17-gun salute was given and twin pyres were lit as per protocol, reported PTI.
Hundreds of people stood on the streets as a truck carrying coffins reached Delhi’s Brar crematorium amid slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘General Rawat Amar Rahe’.
Read | Coonoor Crash: Last Moments of CDS Bipin Rawat’s Helicopter MI-17V5? video surface
Earlier in the day the mortal remains of General Rawat and Madhulika Rawat were brought to their residence at 3 Kamaraj Lane in Delhi. Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister of Rawat’s home state Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among the dignitaries who paid tribute to him. . At his residence in CDS Delhi.
Military Commanders of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh attended the funeral of the General Bipin Rawat,
CDS General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder and 10 others died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Mi-17V-5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu soon after taking off from Sulur Air Base in Coimbatore.
The lone survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is currently undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Bengaluru.
General Rawat served as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army from December 17, 2016 to December 31, 2019. He was appointed as India’s first Chief of Defense Staff on December 31, 2019.
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